


Supergirl: Prometheus

by JamCov



Series: Supergirl: Seeing Red [1]
Category: Green Lantern (Comics), Supergirl (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-07-09 06:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 79,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19882879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamCov/pseuds/JamCov
Summary: A few weeks after thwarting the Daxamite invasion, Kara is at the end of her rope. With her patience thoroughly tested by her circumstances and all her closest relationships reaching breaking point, she turns to extreme measures in an attempt to contain a mysterious Kyptonian threat.Meanwhile, Lena turns to personally investigating someone determined to bring her and L-Corp down. Questioning her instincts, her resolve and her relationship with Kara along the way.





	1. Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> This story starts after the season 2 finale. There's a couple of key differences that will make themselves known. Mainly regarding consequences and how characters reacted to some key moments.

“You can go if you don't want to be here,” she said. Kara was putting in no real effort, she was tempted to take Lena’s offer to bail despite only being there for a few minutes. She stared down at her coffee, thinking better of it.

She stirred the cup simply for an excuse to look at something other than the woman in front of her. The drink sat there, barely touched. A miniature whirlpool had formed from the incessant stirring. Before it died down, a solitary drip had made its way over the rim and was sliding to freedom. She watched it glide down to the bottom of the cup and settle on the saucer. The brown liquid sat there, waiting for its chance to disperse underneath when the time came.

“No Lena, it's fine,” she said finally looking up from the table. The truth was she did not want to be there and had been ignoring the rest of the world as best as she could for the past few weeks. Even at CatCo. She had done the bare minimum she could get away with. Doing just enough work to get by was a new experience for her, especially as there was plenty of work she was supposed to be getting on with.

“You've been ignoring my messages for weeks, so I was pleasantly surprised when you finally decided to respond.” Lena tilted her head slightly, looking right into her eyes.

“But now we're here and I feel like I'm still getting no response,” she said. There was no contempt in her voice, speaking in that soft, concerned way Kara had become accustomed too. It was usually soothing, but it felt strained here, everything did. Alex's persistence since she spiralled into this pit of hers had finally got her out of the apartment and sitting opposite Lena. She was still unsure if caving was a good idea but if anything, she at least had to try and engage properly. Either that or it would be an entire afternoon of watching coffee slosh around her cup in front of a frustrated Lena.

“I'm getting nowhere with this mysterious new murderer who's rampaging through National city's underworld. They're leaving nothing behind but charred corpses and a weird skull symbol, so forgive me if I'm not as chipper as usual” she said. Lena hesitated slightly,

“Well, what do you know?” she said. Kara decided she would humour her, it was the most she had spoken to someone besides Alex for a while.

“The symbol's Kryptonian, that's all my research has managed to muster,” she said.

“Have you asked Supergirl?” Lena said. Kara rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“Yes. She doesn't know much about it either,” she said. This was met with silence, Kara was happy to let it sit as she took in the ambient chatter from the patrons around the coffee shop. Lena had stopped looking at her, instead contemplatively looking into the distance. Kara took a sip of her coffee, placing the cup back down in the spillage she had created before.

“I haven't seen much of Supergirl recently,” Lena said. She was impressed with Lena's perseverance in trying to keep some sort of conversation alive. Kara had not seen much of Supergirl either, very little had happened since the Daxamite invasion and her adventures lately had just been showing up to crime-scenes where this mysterious new Kryptonian had already struck. D.E.O. efforts to track this person down in any capacity had proven fruitless so far.

“Supergirl’s still out there fighting the good fight,” Kara said. Lena’s response was just a non-committal noise.

“Something you want to say?” Kara said, Lena would normally gush about Supergirl whenever she got the chance.

“What? No,” she said.

“Right.” Kara said.

Lena leaned forward and held her hand. Kara considered pulling away, but left it be.

“I'm here for you Kara, I've been worried about you,” she said.

“You don't need to be, I've just been busy?” Kara said.

“You've always been busy before and it's never brought you down like this. I don't want to force you to talk about it, but I think I know what this is really about,” she said. Kara pulled her hand away, her nostrils flared. The pity from Alex and J'onn was bad enough but hearing it from Lena as well touched a nerve.

“I'm not justifying that with a response,” Kara said. Lena took a deep breath.

“I'm sorry. It's not my place, but you have to let me in at some point. You haven't been yourself lately,” Lena said. Once again Lena was looking right at her, Kara broke the eye contact quickly. She was tired of being told how different she had been recently, as if it being down was something she was not allowed to do.

“You're right it's not your place and it's not my fault you're upset that I'm not acting in a way you want me too,” Kara said. Lena looked deflated, looking back down into her own coffee. Kara put her head in her hands, she had said that more accusingly than she had intended. The humdrum of the shop seemed to pick up as silence once again fell between the two of them. She let the atmosphere of the busy shop wash over her, trying to revel in the idleness she had sought solace in these past few weeks. It was an attempt at a respite from the situation at hand, it was not working. Her general agitation and the aroma of the barely touched coffee kept her mind firmly in the present.

Lena was visibly upset and doing a poor job of hiding it. Kara had snapped at her when all she was doing was trying to help. She sighed, knowing she at least had to attempt to reassure her in some capacity.

“Look, I loved him, now he's gone. It isn't something I want to talk about right now,” she said.

Lena perked up slightly. “Just know, when you're ready I will always be here for you,” she said.

“Thank you,” she replied. Whether she would take Lena up on that remained to be seen, she was doing her very best to avoid thinking about Mon-El and needed to get out of her own head again.

“Of course, that works both ways,” Kara said, she wanted to shift the topic to Lena. It might do something to calm herself down a bit and dig herself out of this hole she had just created.

Lena laughed slightly, “everything you're going through and you're still more concerned about me?”

“What's bothering you Lena? I'm guessing it involves Supergirl.” she said.

“Am I that obvious?” she said.

“Well when we spoke about her just now. How should I put it? You didn’t seem like yourself,” Kara said. Lena fretted.

“It's just... this can wait another time you know,” she said.

“Helping you feel better will help me feel better, now come on,” Kara smiled, it was mostly genuine. Though she was also curious to see what it was that changed her attitude towards Supergirl. She could see Lena trying to put everything together in her head, several times she looked like she was about to speak but then held back. After what felt like a long time of watching Lena stalling, she spoke out.

“It's about that weapon I made,” Lena said.

“You mean with the Daxamites?” she asked.

“Yeah...” Lena shifted in her seat. “Kara, did I do the right thing?”

“You helped save the world,” Kara said, slightly perturbed.

“I know, I know.” Lena paused, clearly uncomfortable. “I trust Supergirl's judgement, but it's just been playing on my mind.”

“Why?” Kara asked.

“When my mother tried to activate it and I so proudly announced I had given the trigger to Supergirl, it felt like such a victory. Like I had bested her in a way she simply couldn't stand. But then...” Lena trailed off.

“It's okay, I'm here” Kara said, fearing she knew where this was going. Lena half-smiled, seemingly only partially reassured.

“I put that thing together as a last resort and so quickly after I smugly put my mother down, Supergirl uses it,” Lena said.

“She did what she had to do,” Kara said, poorly disguising her annoyance. This was an attitude she had grown all too familiar with but hearing it from Lena was a particularly hard to stomach.

“I understand that, there was just so little hesitation,” she said.

“She had no other choice, Rhea was ruthless and refused to honour the agreement of the duel,” Kara said.

“I guess, in truth I don't know what else I was expecting. It's just been weighing down on me,” she said.

“Don't let it, it was the right call,” Kara said. Lena slumped, abandoning her usual elegant posture.

“I thought you'd be able to see where I was coming from,” Lena said.

Kara narrowed her eyes “What makes you say that?” She asked.

Lena promptly sat up again, trying to hide behind her drink. Kara’s glare did not waiver, she waited for that coffee to return to the table. 

“Never mind, I misspoke.” Lena said.

“No. Finish that thought.” Kara said, seething.

Lena sighed. “It's the decision that forced Mon-El out of your life,”

Hearing this from Lena was more than she wanted to deal with, it brought back the memory of loading Mon-El in that ship and exiling him forever. She refused to think about it any further, picked up her bag and standing up.

“I'm sorry, please don't go,” Lena said, Kara ignored her. Lena may have been unaware of it, but she had crossed a line. She stormed off without looking back, though only made it a few meters before she felt a tug at her arm. She turned to see Lena had gotten up to stop her.

“Kara... please, there's more I need to tell you” Lena said, there was a brief moment between them where nothing was said. Kara contemplated staying, but could feel her anger getting the better of her. It would be best for both of them if she left before making it worse.

“I told you I didn't want to talk about that,” Kara said. She pulled her arm away and walked off, leaving Lena behind. Lena had no idea that her criticism of Supergirl’s choice to sacrifice Mon-El was so personal. It did however serve as a good enough reason to get out of there, preferring to leave whatever this was with Lena unfinished rather than hurt her any further.


	2. Regicide

The blare of the new alarm woke her up, now placed on the other side of the room as she wrecked the last one by hitting the snooze button a little too enthusiastically. This solution was short lived as she pondered whether blasting the thing with heat vision was worth it. She quickly concluded that it was not, then did it anyway.

She had come straight back to the apartment after leaving Lena behind yesterday. Her phone was alluding her as she groggily clawed for it without bothering to look up or move, knocking over odds and ends as the failure to find the phone continued. This challenge had bested her, so she propped herself up to find the phone mocking her as the only untouched object within reach. She grabbed the thing and unlocked it. Three missed calls, all Lena. Two of the calls happened yesterday after the heated meeting and there was one fresh missed call this very morning. She did not clear these notifications and once more resisted the urge to look through messages Mon-El had sent her before he left.

As ever, work beckoned and she needed to head into the office. A perk of her powers she was enjoying most lately was that she could literally leave at the last minute. In the blink of an eye the time had come where she had no option to delay any further. After a hastened morning routine, she flew out.

Her commute blurred by, the cars and tall buildings all blending into each other. She flew slow enough not to burn up her civilian cloths and high enough not to be spotted. She found the favourite secluded spot of hers to land in, popped on her glasses and walked the short distance to the CatCo building. In the past it was a welcome sight, but now it was a reminder of how little progress she had been making.

Same old front door, same old lift to the top floor, foot bouncing impatiently as she rode the ups and downs. As the ding for her destination rang around her ears the doors popped open and she stepped out behind the crowd. She saw Winn slowly spinning in an office chair amongst all the busy co-workers flying by and violently tapping away at keyboards. He checked his watch when he spotted her.

“Pretty much to the second, you've developed quite the talent,” he said.

“Hi Winn,” she said, genuinely pleased to see him. He was one of the few people that opted out of constantly nagging her to leave her apartment.

“It's been a while since I've seen you,” he looked around to see if anyone was in earshot “In this building anyway, how's things?”

“Still the same,” she said.

“Fair enough,” he said, slightly distracted as the computer in front of him finally whirred to life. “You know at the D.E.O. the machine is usually already on for me.”

“Shall I send interns ahead for when you come in?” Kara said.

“Don't give me ideas,” he said and tapped away at the keyboard, “but today I'm the intern, Jimmy is using all the help he can get.” They both looked into his office as he stared blankly at the documents on his desk.

“If I were Cat, I'd have put in blinds or something for stress days,” Winn said, now drumming the desk with his fingers as he waited for his login details to kick in.

“That office is that open for a reason, she liked people to think she was always watching them,” she said.

“Well it worked on me. Can't say Jimmy is appreciating it right now,” he said. Kara furrowed her brow, Jimmy usually made his work look so effortless. Winn lowered his voice and leaned in close.

“He's even taken his foot off the pedal with Guardian, Lyra's picking it up for him. I made her some Guardian armour by the way, she looks great in it.” he said, tailing off.

“Focus, Winn” Kara said, at least he was staying the course on not treating her any differently.

“Right yeah. It's mainly saving people from mild disaster or getting cats out of trees, anything more serious is covered by this new Kryptonian,” he said. Kara's improved mood vanished.

“Have you found out anything?” she asked.

“I did actually get something, it's not much but if this machine ever logs me in, I'll be able to show you,” he said. She was unsure whether he was talking to her or being passive-aggressive to the computer.

“Should you be doing that on a CatCo computer?” she said.

“Kara, are you doubting my ability to hide my digital presence?” he said.

“Of course, tech genius, whatever.” she said, slightly disappointed in herself for giving him such an easy one.

“You got any further with it on your end?” he asked.

“Nope, my mother's database has nothing useful,” she said. It was an hour of her life she would never get back, questioning it and trying to think of wording or a phrase that might trigger something she could work with

“Have you asked Clark?” he said.

“Yes,” she said. She was lying.

“Ah-hah, I'm logged in.” He started clicking away. “Now I cross referenced any Kryptonian data we had with Fort Rozz's archives, ran plenty of algorithms on human databases and even resorted to asking as discreetly as I could at known alien hangouts.” He said.

“And?” she said

“Nothing,” he said.

“Helpful,” she said.

“That's when I just gave up and just started slapping different combinations of related words into a search engine and bam,” He moved the monitor over so it was easier for her to see.

“Page twenty-six of searching “Alien skull symbol Krypton” and I find this.” What she saw was a wall of text on some obscure blog.

“You've read all this?” she asked.

“Yep, it's mostly babble and the rather poor spelling must have thrown off my original search parameters, but there's a pretty accurate description of that symbol along with a word that keeps cropping up,” he said.

“World Killer,” Kara finished the sentence for him as she scanned through the web page before her.

“I'm gonna follow it up as soon as I'm back at the D.E.O., where the computers are more advanced than a potato,” he said. She was sure this time this was directed at the machine.

“Why aren't you doing that now?” she said.

“Jimmy asked me to help,” he said.

“But you weren't doing anything,” she said.

“Well he hasn't actually asked me to do anything specific yet,” he said. As if on cue Kara heard a particularly aggravated sound from Jimmy. She turned to see him signing numerous forms.

“Didn't need super-hearing to pick that one up, maybe you should check up on him,” Winn said.

Kara considered just telling Winn to do it, but he had probably already tried. Jimmy had been suspiciously quiet since the Daxamite invasion was thwarted. He only seemed to be cooped up in this office when assignments were handed out to the staff. His workload had gotten in the way of him meddling, she had little doubt he would have been as persistent as Alex and Lena if he had the time. Though it was stressful for him, Kara was quietly grateful for it.

She walked into his office. He glanced up, his dishevelled look clashing with the clean-cut demeanour he normally kept. He quickly returned his attention to to the paperwork in front of him. “Morning Kara,” he said.

“Morning,” she said, wary of how to approach him.

“Is there something you need?” He asked.

“You look a little...”

“Stressed?” Jimmy said, cutting her off. Kara said nothing, just gave him an irritated look.

“I need to get this done, I don't have time for whatever this,” he pointed at her. “is right now.”

Kara was actually quite relieved despite the rudeness, but now she was here it was an opportunity to talk about something else that was playing on her mind.

“Is Clark still…” she began to ask.

“Yes.” He said without looking up from his desk, he then paused. “He’ll come around, we both know he’s the forgiving type of guy.”

Clark had told her not to use the weapon against the Daxamites at any cost and outright refused to work with the D.E.O. whilst it was an option. He had not spoken to her since and now Lena leaning toward that attitude just made it sting more. Shoulders slumped and further demoralised, she turned to leave. Before she got to the door Jimmy spoke up.

“Can you tell Lena her C.F.O. has been slacking recently? I’ve tried telling her myself, but I always get the feeling she’s just humouring me” Kara turned back around to face him.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“Lena's C.F.O., she seemed damn good at her job but recently whenever I talk to her she just seems vacant, she keeps forgetting to do things that I then have to cover,” he said. Kara felt like she had missed some steps in the conversation.

“Why are you working with Lena's C.F.O.?” she asked. Jimmy stopped scratching his pen away at the papers in front of him.

“You don't know?” He said.

“Know what?” She said.

“Lena is buying out CatCo,” he said. She could only muster a bewildered look.

“Seriously? It’s been all over the news. Hell, hasn’t Lena talked to you about it?” he said. Kara was struggling to process this information.

“Why? How?” she said, it was all the eloquence she could muster. Jimmy raised an eyebrow.

“Cat went on a year hiatus then makes a sudden and flamboyant reappearance as Press Secretary,” he said.

“So, she's focusing more on politics now?” she asked. It was Jimmy's turn to look bewildered.

“Kara, she’s being forced out,” he said.

“There’s no way she would let that happen,” she said.

“Well with the blind trust and the board unanimously agreeing with it, there isn’t a lot she can do,” he said.

“Unanimous? So you aren’t fighting for her?” she said.

“I tried, but in the end, I didn't have a leg to stand on,” he said. She remained unconvinced, she folded her arms and scowled at him.

“To put it lightly, Cat's behaviour raised a lot of red flags. A lot of investors pulled out completely overnight. Stock value crashed and public image took a serious hit.

The board wanted to steer away from the hot-headed politician. When the chance to be owned by the dynamic new Luthor who played a large part in saving the world arose, they jumped at it,” he said. Kara had to take a seat. Cat had helped her so much over the years and now she was being forced out by her friends.

“Why did you give up on Ms.Grant so quickly?” She said, looking over all his notes and signatures. A few L-Corp logos were sitting in their headers.

“You have to admit, they have a point.” He said, this did not sit well with her and she made sure he knew it. “The only thing we hear from her in a year is about a blind trust she threw together without consulting anyone, then is seen on an international level as a direct accessory to a stunt that achieved what? Attention, theatrics?” he said.

“It’s not her fault she got shot down,” Kara said.

“Kara, I’ve been where you are right now, trying to defend her, I’ve gone over it in with that bloody board room so many times,” he said.

“Well go over it again,” she said. Jimmy almost sounded bored, it was clear he had been through this before.

“How can I defend it? What was her end goal? She could have easily contacted the Daxamites from the ground, but she insisted on jumping in Air Force One for some needless hostility. Even then, it was all posturing and grandstanding against an alien tyrant who clearly had no qualms with violence. She was practically begging to be shot at. Even if it hadn’t got shot down, were they just going to what? Fly by? Maybe crash into the ship as a pointless sign of defiance? If you hadn’t swooped in, then Cat and the President would be dead. As for the families of the pilot and the secret service agents…” he trailed off, her simmering was becoming more and more evident on her face.

“She was trying to protect people…” she said, speaking slowly.

She clenched her fists and bit down on the inside of her mouth. The urge to yell at him was like a pressure, internally crushing all the muscles in her face. Seeing the worry in Jimmy’s face, she took a deep breath. Instead sliding into a slouch on the chair. Jimmy sighed and sat next to her.

“I’m sorry if it sounds harsh, Cat’s been good to both of us. I’ve been dealing with this for weeks and it’s only added to the stress of ensuring a smooth takeover.” he paused. She was staring down at her feet with a blank expression.

“From what I can tell, Lena seems to want to keep things largely the same,” Jimmy said, it sounded like he was trying to be reassuring.

It was apparently the best he could muster with the boardroom politics and Lena’s C.F.O. giving him problems. With Jimmy being like this she started to wonder if this is what Lena felt like yesterday.

She buried her head in her hands, this must have been why Lena had been so persistent in trying to contact her and what she wanted to tell her yesterday at that blasted coffee shop. It felt like time was standing still as she began to think through what all of this meant. Jimmy interrupted her from this trance and pointed at one of the screens behind his desk. A series of fires had broken out across the city, Kara stared at it blankly.

“We can talk about this more later, but for now the city needs Supergirl,” he said.


	3. Flames

She watched the news report for a few seconds more. There were about a dozen large fires across the city. She could not decide whether the timing of it was a blessing or a curse. A convenient distraction for her troubled mind, though she knew it would not make her issues go away any faster.

“Do you mind?” Kara asked as she gestured to Jimmy's Balcony.

“It's all yours,” he said. She checked behind her to see if anyone was looking in. Winn was the only one paying attention to them. Throwing her glasses to the side and ripping off her work clothes to reveal the symbol, she ran out to the balcony and launched herself into the air. Hovering high above the city to gauge the situation, she spotted smoke clouds in every direction. Sirens wailed away from all over as she rushed to the closest one, there was no screaming or cries for help from inside. After quickly scanning the building up and down with her x-ray vision she determined there was no-one in there to save. She looked to the next closest fire, prioritising looking for people trapped in any of the burning buildings. When she arrived at the next it was the same story, no sign of life inside, just a crowd gathered outside. When she discovered this to be the case in the next four buildings, she decided to shift priorities. The fires were getting worse and any further delaying could cause a larger spread and set whole blocks ablaze. She flew through the top window, beads of sweat made their way down her forehead as the fires roared at her. She started to extinguish the flames with her frost breath, sweeping the place room by room, floor by floor. It was a monotonous and time-consuming process, but this was all she could offer for now, the fire department would be stretched thin and needed all the help they could get. The lack of opportunity to be any use as Supergirl since the invasion had been driving her mad. Something finally does come along and so far, was a task that required very little thought.

As she worked her way through the flames her mind wandered back to what Jimmy had said. The way the CatCo board were ousting Ms.Grant seemed ridiculous to her, she had built that company from nothing and now after one mistake they shift their loyalties in a heartbeat. She let the irritation get the better of her as she overzealously put out the ground floor fires, leaving an overly large patch of ice over the reception desk. Her work in this place was done so she flew out and told the first fireman she could find that the building was clear. Before he could say anything, she shot off to the next building.

The sheer number of fires meant that containing the damage and putting them all out was going to take a long time, she would have to rely on the emergency services to try and keep everything under control and evacuate the surrounding areas.

This building was significantly larger than the previous one. As she circled round looking for an entry point she quickly noticed some movement from the roof. Spotting the danger at hand she swooped down to catch the falling debris before it could hurt anyone. Losing patience, she crashed through a top floor window to begin her sweep. She barely noticed the crackling flames and walls of smoke. They were tickling her nostrils and itched in her eyes but her mind still drifted back to earlier, it was hard to believe that Lena had kept quiet about the takeover or that she had failed to notice any whispers of gossip at work.. She may have wanted to tell her yesterday, but Lena was not the kind of woman who would approach any situation timidly. She could not help but wonder if there was more to this than a pure business decision as Lena was normally so forthright with her. Perhaps it was a ruthless side of Lena that was always there, she had just never been caught in the crossfire before. The fact the board were so ready to accept her as the world saviour left a bitter taste having heard doubts about these actions from the woman herself. Whilst contemplating whether to confront the situation head on or let Lena come to her with an explanation, she snapped back to reality having cleared the second building.

It was concerning her how long this was taking. Alternative methods such as creating any gusts strong enough would require a lot of speed, she had the ability but she would not be able to keep it confined purely to the fires. With the structures weakening by the second, the risk of collateral damage was just too great. Everything else along this line of thought would just end with people getting hurt. There seemed to be no choice but to keep up what she was doing.

She found her rhythm as she worked her way through the city, zooming from blaze to blaze and extinguishing them with her frost breath. All the fires happening simultaneously was a concern, it was also peculiar how every single one had been empty. It would be worth investigating once she was done playing fire-hose, though she knew this added to the list of important things to do as Kara Danvers that she had very little motivation for.

She rose up above the skyline briefly taking note of her progress, counting the pillars of smoke in the distance. The number of fires was significantly less than she remembered. The severity of the fires was too great for the fire department to suddenly contain so quickly, even having lost count out of absent-mindedness she knew she had not been this efficient.

With time waning she eyed the next building, it was firmly in her sights. She accelerated ready to burst in and start her work, but to her surprise, she bounced off. Whatever she had hit was incredibly hard and she started free-falling. Disorientated, she instinctively hovered in place. Her vision was blurred and her hearing was muffled and unclear, all she could make out was a voice speaking to her. She shook her head to try clear up her vision only to reveal a green blur. She was worried she had been a hit a little too hard in the head, but her doubts were set aside when definition came back and the blur was still around the building. She tilted her head and tried to decipher what was going on.

“Are you listening?” the voice she heard was clearer now. The source was a man wearing a green and black uniform. He also appeared to be responsible for the building's new outer-shell as it emanated from a beam coming from his outstretched fist.

“Outskirts of the city, the alarm system failed and has a whole load of people inside. I need your help to save them,” he said. She watched the fires inside their current building all dissipate at once.

“I've got this covered, I'll follow you once the fires burn themselves out,” he said. She was grateful for this stranger's help but confused nonetheless. Questions would have to come later, she had no reason to believe he was lying so shot up into the air once more.

Concentrating hard on the sounds around the city she got a good idea of where she needed to be, high concentrations of cries for help were coming from the East. Angry at herself for not listening carefully enough before, she followed these sounds to their destination. Wind raced through her hair and the air rushed passed her ears as she reached over as fast as she could manage. When she found the building question, she landed at ground level where a bunch of fire engines were gathered.

“Supergirl, you have to get them out,” said one of the firemen. She could see a lot of people trapped behind walls of flame or collapsed ceilings. Clearing a path for herself and the victims in the stronger sections of the structure was simple enough but there was a significant amount of people in precarious situations.

With no time to waste, she very quickly went about putting out fires and bringing the people to safety. She did not let the hissing and steam as ice met fire distract her. Most people them were in strong enough parts of the building to be saved almost immediately. Though her breathing felt heavy from all the frost breath she had to muster and maintaining such a high speed for so long, she became more hopeful for those remaining inside. This brief moment of hope was quickly squandered as the top half of the building started leaning ever so slightly toward her. She shouted to anyone that would listen as the front section was sliding off the main structure.

“Clear the area, it’s coming down,” she said. She flew up and tried to push it back into place, she could feel the resistance as it refused to settle. Her arms began to buckle, in a heart-stopping moment she had to let go to turn and take the weight on her back. It was pressing hard against her, doing its very best to try and fall forward. All that she could do was keep it steady so the people below could evacuate and pray the higher sections did not crumble. She closed her eye and gritted her teeth, it was a lot of strain and the extreme heat it was giving off was starting to make itself felt. Despite this, all that entered her mind was how she could not save the people inside.

The weight suddenly let up slightly, she opened her eyes to see a corner sliding off, only able to watch as it began its descent. The people below there would not be able to move out the way in time. She was stuck there, moving off would bring the rest of the building down.

She struggled to watch the scenes below, knowing their fate. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable crash. When all the panicked screams changed to gasps, she opened her eyes to see a giant green hand placing the corner harmlessly aside. The hand then disappeared, and she saw the man in the green and black uniform approach.

“Put out the flames like you did before,” she said, straining from the weight on her back.

“I can't, the bubbles I’ve been creating were a vacuum, I do that here and the people inside would suffocate,” he said. Her brain ticked away, if she was fast enough she could grab everyone and bring them outside one by one. Those inside might suffer severe burns and the speed she would have to go at could cause some minor damage to them, but they would be alive. The building buckled slightly and pushed back hard to compensate, the heat and weight wearing her down.

“Can you hold this, I need to go inside,” she said, struggling to speak clearly from the strain.

“I'll do what I can,” the man in green said. A green, glowing crane built itself up and placed its arms to keep the building from falling. Now she was up close she could see that it was coming from a ring the man wore.

“That works, we can go in and save the rest of them,” she said.

“I have to stay out here,” he said. “It's taking a lot of power and concentration to keep this in place and I'll need to keep an eye on the crowd below.” She carefully came forward, knowing sudden movement or too quick a change in pressure could bring down the whole thing.

“I’m going to be going fast, the force I create could collapse the building, be ready for anything,” she said. He nodded.

She picked out where everyone was and planned her routes whilst getting her breath back.

After rolling her shoulders and stretching out she set off, the air booming around her at the acceleration. In and out she went, clearing the teetering mass of the last remaining people. When the final person was clear she inspected her work, the group were all disorientated but got out mostly unscathed. She turned her attention back to the building. She saw the green crane grow another arm and more supports as the building became more determined to come down, satisfied she had dropped off the civilians at a safe distance she went back into the fray.

“They're all out,” she said.

“Right, we're going to have to bring this down carefully,” he said through gritted teeth. The supporting arms of the crane started to retract and green walls formed in front of loose debris, preventing them from straying toward any bystanders. She flew underneath the descending tower to keep it as steady as possible. Onlookers watched in awe as the crane and her finally placed the top half of the burnt husk onto the ground. She shook her hands out as the amount of heavy lifting took its toll on her body. Her arms felt heavy and had to force her breathing, the smoke having taken its toll on her lungs. The whole ordeal had been exhausting.

“There's still work to be done, but my scans show this was the only occupied one. I'll sort the remaining fires. You sweep each site with that speed of yours and check for any emergencies,” said the man in green. She was a little put out by being ordered rather than asked but he was right. At this point he had also earned the benefit of the doubt. Before she went, she wanted to know he appreciated his help.

“Thanks for the assist...” she said pausing for a name.

“Hal Jordan,” he said.

“Thanks for the assist, Hal,” she said, putting out her hand to shake it. He seemed oddly reluctant to oblige, but indulged her.

“Now go, I'll deal with the rest of these,” he said pointing to the smoke clouds.

“Once we’re done I need to talk to you,” he said. She smiled at him, he returned only a dour expression as a green glow surrounded him and he flew off. The amazing rush of being Supergirl that she had been missing out on had finally returned to her.


	4. Confrontation

Despite all the panic and commotion, each site seemed to be relativity calm. The fires had thoroughly wrecked everything they had come into contact with, leaving only crumbled shells. She spent a few minutes at each one, making sure she was not needed and checking in with the people around them, asking basic questions and acknowledging the gratitude thrown her way.

It had been the same story from them all. Well before the fire started, alarms went off and evacuation procedures had been triggered. There was little physical evidence left to go on and no-one seemed to be aware of what the causes of the fires were. It was yet another investigation with no obvious leads. The suspicious circumstances and simultaneous timing was all she had to go on. Hopefully closer inspection from analysts would find something more substantial.

Satisfied everyone was safe and there was no more useful information to be gathered, she set to return to her new green friend. He seemed serious when he said he wanted to talk to her, if anything she would oblige just to find out who he was. The fact he had helped with the fires was at least a promising start, a new high-profile ally around the city might spark something with the mystery Kryptonian.

She flew back to the wreckage of the collapsed building, what remained of it was charred and crumbling. It was another potential clue that the extent of the damage seemed to be beyond what a regular fire could cause. The fact she could feel any of the heat when suggested they were far hotter than any natural cause could manage.

The rubble was now cordoned off from the public, she saw Hal talking to the office-workers they had saved beyond it. She landed in the wreckage, wanting to get a closer look before dealing with whatever his agenda was. She picked up a section of what was once a part of the building. It had turned completely black and was extremely brittle, it started falling apart as she picked it up. It could have been a side effect from the fires but for all she knew it could have been something to do with the green ring. Soon enough she would have the D.E.O.'s take to go on, for now it was time to get some answers from Hal Jordan. She dropped what was left of the sample and floated over to him.

“Is everyone okay?” she asked, addressing the group gathered around Hal.

“Yes thanks,” one said. Though she could see several people being treated for burns in the distance.

“Still a bit woozy if I'm honest,” said another.

“Sorry, the flight speed can do that,” said Kara. The man caught himself.

“Don't get me wrong, still very much grateful,” he said.

“Well if anything, I'd say you have the rest of the day to recover,” Hal said looking back at the rubble. Mild laughter came from the group. Hal turned to her, speaking quietly.

“We need to talk, now.” She gave a slight nod. They both turned back to the group.

“Well good to meet you all and happy to help,” Hal said, smiling at them. He flew directly up. Kara gave one last wave to them and followed. They cleared National City's skyline but Hal kept flying. She caught up with him.

“Where exactly are we going?” she asked.

“Up,” he said. She noted how much more curt he was with her compared to the people below. She overtook and stopped, facing down at him with her arms folded.

“What do you want?” she asked.

Hal made an annoyed grunt and flew up to her level.

“To ask you some questions,” he said. She was quickly growing tired of his attitude and wanted to assert some of her own authority.

“Not unless you answer my questions first,” she said. He stroked his chin, weighing up his options.

“Fine, ask away,” he said. After he said this, she realised she had focused more on the defiance than what she actually wanted to ask. She took her time inspecting his person. The most obvious question jumped out at her when she looked down at his hand.

“What exactly is that ring?” she asked.

“I can create anything. The ring channels my willpower and makes it happen,” he said.

“Did you make it yourself?” she asked.

“It's alien,” he said. She looked at him with X-ray vision, there was nothing of note or any biology unknown to her.

“You seem human, did you find it somewhere?” she asked.

“It found me. Power rings choose their masters,” he said. Kara paused to take all this in and think of how to word the next question, there was no delicate way to put it.

“So who, or what, exactly are you?” she said.

“Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of sector two-eight-one-four,” he said.

“Green Lantern?” She muttered to herself, the name somehow seemed familiar.

“Are you done?” he said, clearly growing impatient. She ignored him and started thinking away. The penny dropped as she recollected vague stories about a Green Lantern as a girl on Krypton. Though she had never seen him, he was trying to help stabilise the planet. Clearly, he had failed.

“You're definitely human?” she asked.

“Last time I checked, yes,” he said. 

“Was it you on Krypton?” she asked

“Different sector, different Green Lantern,” he said. He pointed at the symbol on her chest.

“I take it from that question and that symbol you're associated with Superman,” he said. It was a topic she had not expected.

“You know Superman?” she said.

“We've met,” he said. She raised an eyebrow.

“He's never mentioned you,” she said.

“He never mentioned you either,” he said.

“He's Superman, I'm Supergirl,” she said. Revealing the family tie at this point did not feel necessary.

“I gathered. The people down there are very complimentary of you,” he said.

“Why have I not seen you before?” she said, the suspicion still lingering in her mind.

“Earth isn't the only planet in my sector,” he said.

“So, the crises and multiple invasions didn't warrant any attention then?” she said.

“Actually, that's why I'm here,” he said. She huffed at him.

“You're a bit late,” she said. He seemed unamused by this comment and carried on.

“The reports we've been getting about the Daxamite invasion are somewhat disturbing and we know you're directly involved,” he said. This again, it seemed everyone was conspiring to not give her any peace on the matter.

“So what?” she said.

“The Guardians of the Universe want to speak to you about what took place, so you'll have to come with me,” he said. Whoever these Guardians were, she had little interest in talking to them and even less interest in taking part in punishing the remaining Daxamites.

“No,” she said.

“This isn't voluntary,” he said, his green aura got slightly brighter as he said this.

“National City needs my protection. You might be happy to ignore Earth's problems but I'm not,” she said, his reaction suggested she struck a nerve with that comment.

“Don't force my hand,” he said.

“I'm leaving now,” she said. Her path was blocked by a wall of green. When she turned back to him she found they were both surrounded by this green. It looked like the interior of a spaceship. She set her feet down and it felt as solid as any regular floor.

“The sooner this is done, the sooner you can sort out your Earth affairs,” he said. First he gave her orders, now he was trying to bully her into submission. She walked up close to him with an unblinking scowl.

“I'm leaving now,” she repeated. Unintimidated, Hal turned to the front of his ship. Green shackles appeared on her wrists and ankles.

“I told you this wasn't voluntary,” he said. She looked at the constructs and pulled at them gently to feel their strength, they were solid but would be breakable. She clenched her fists, angry at how quickly he had turned hostile and was in no mood to tolerate any of this

She put her wrists together, and then violently pulled them apart. The shackles buckled, one more pull and they shattered before her. Upon freeing her hands, she reached down and crushed the ones at her ankles.

“Stop resisting,” Hal said. She ignored him, if the shackle constructs were breakable then so was the ship. She punched the side of it hard, the wall cracked around the impact. A beam immediately shot out and it began to repair the wall, the cracks slowly filling themselves in. She pulled back for another punch. Another green beam appeared and pulled back at her wrist before she could land another hit.

“You're only making things worse for yourself,” he said, sounding strained. She punched the side again with her free hand and yanked at the beam holding her back, it took a few attempts, but she managed to break free. In the corner of her eye she saw Hal giving up on this strategy to lunge at her, he was going for broke. A series of quick but strong punches broke through the ship before he reached her. The entire thing shattered around them and he ended up tackling her into thin air. They started to tumble, she pushed him off easily enough and they both regained their orientation quickly.

He was hovering a short distance away with his arm out, the glowing ring on his fist pointed at her. She had her arms by her side, giving off an air of confidence. The truth was this would be a difficult fight. He was only human, she had no idea what kind of punishment he could take and just working out how hard to hit would take time. Time she did not want to spend fighting as she was still exhausted from dealing with the fires and holding up half a skyscraper. The adrenaline from their small skirmish starting to wear off only added weight to her tired body. As some drowsiness made itself known it occurred to her Hal had to exert himself to hold her back and she remembered what he said when forming the crane. He spoke about concentration and power, it was likely he was as tired as she was, if she played it right she could end things here and now.

“Tell me,” she said, allowing a smirk to come across her face. “How much power has that ring of yours got left in it, because I can go at it all day.” Hal did not waiver, just remained silent in the same stance. Kara let out a single, small laugh. Hoping her performance was convincing, she folded her arms and waited for a response. She got none.

The stand-off continued, the only movement was her cape flapping in the breeze. The wind rushed by. Her breathing was slow and steady. She watched the Green Lantern intently, ready to make a move at a moment's notice should he call her bluff. He was staring back at her, ring still glowing. After a long bout of stillness, his expression hardened. She did not flinch.

The ring's glow faded and he slowly lowered his arm.

“Smart choice” she said, hiding her relief. Wordlessly, he flew away. She doubted it would be the last time she saw of him. It was not the best first impression of Supergirl she had given but she found herself not caring. With the day now saved and the Lantern gone she groaned as it was now time to return to CatCo as Kara Danvers. She needed to get a handle on everything that had happened today, at least with Jimmy distracted she could coast for the rest of the day. She needed to keep her head down and pray today would not get any worse.


	5. Introductions

She was back to being Kara Danvers in Jimmy's office, watching the footage of her and Green Lantern flying about the city.

“Who's the new guy?” Jimmy said.

“A Green Lantern,” she said, aware of how unhelpful an answer that was. Jimmy looked like he wanted to ask more but instead got back to working. Apparently Kal had not mentioned Hal to Jimmy either.

She looked at her phone, her thumb hovering over the call button. Part of her wanted to break the silence with Kal to verify if he had actually met the Green Lantern, but contacting him for the first time in weeks just to get information would probably not go down well. The encounter with Green Lantern being so hostile would probably just lead him to judge her even more. She stared at the phone for a while longer, contemplating her next move.

The world went on around her. Jimmy was toiling away and Winn still outside surfing through various news sites. Kara finally decided to hit the back button and saw Kal's information disappear back to her contact list, she scrolled up to Alex Danvers. She wanted to check in and the D.E.O. might have something useful. She walked out to the balcony and listened to the phone ring away.

“Hi sis,” Alex said. She could hear a lot of background chatter and general noise from Alex’s end.

“Hi,” she said.

“Nice work today, everyone got out of it alive,” Alex said.

“I didn’t exactly do much,” she said.

“Apart from put out the fires and empty a burning building of people? Enough of the misery act, you saved a lot of lives. Today was a win so take it,” Alex said. Alex’s positivity had been relentless. It was to cheer her up, but Kara knew a lot of it also stemmed from how well things were going with Maggie. Kara was happy for her, but it did taint a lot of what Alex said about Mon-El. The face of such a strong relationship made for poor sympathy regarding Kara's lost one.

“Is there anything you know about what happened?” Kara said.

“We’re not jumping straight to business, I want to know how you're doing,” Alex said.

Kara sighed. “Come on, you went out to see Lena and you got to save the day for the first time in weeks, you have to feel at least a bit better.”

Kara lowered the phone and looked at the call time, it had barely been a minute and she already wanted to throw it off the balcony. She refrained and put the phone back up to her ear, Alex would be impossible to avoid for long anyway.

“Your advice didn't work, all I did was upset Lena and now I've found out about this whole CatCo takeover I don't know where we stand,” Kara said.

“You didn't know about that? Jimmy told me CatCo are doing a press release soon” Alex said.

“Well it had nothing to do with me,” Kara said, it seemed everyone knew about this except her.

“I know you've been shutting yourself off but you if you didn't even know that...” Alex tailed off. “Well now you know, isn't it a good thing? You and Lena are normally so close.”

“I just don't know what's going on any more, everything is changing at the worst possible time. Cat was always so good at guiding me through stuff like this and now Lena's elbowed her out the way,” Kara said.

“Look, you're either going to blame yourself for this or you're going to blame Lena. I'm here now telling you not to do either of those things. Don't let this rough patch of yours cause a rift between the two of you,” Alex said.

“Since when were you so fond of her?” Kara said.

“I don't know her that well myself, but when she's happy, you're happy. In my view she's got the best chance of pulling you out of this rut,” Alex said. Kara did not know what she was basing this off. She let it slide hoping it would end this part of the conversation.

“Are you done trying to make me feel better?” Kara said.

“Nope,” Alex said. Kara groaned, looking at the view from the balcony as the temptation to throw the phone away reared its head once more.

“If anything, I'll wear you down so much you'll get tired of being miserable,” Alex said.

“Can you please just tell me if you've found anything,” Kara said.

“Fine, but we're coming back to it before this call is done,” Alex said.

“I can't wait,” Kara said. Kicking a few loose stones around on the balcony.

“Most physical evidence is totally unusable. It's been destroyed or burnt out, however the extensive amount of damage in the time-frame strongly suggests alien tech was used to start this all off,” Alex said.

“Any idea on how all this was done?” Kara asked.

“Nothing concrete but it's still early days. Did you spot anything whilst on the job” Alex said.

“Well the fire was hot enough to bother even me,” Kara said.

“I'll let the tech guys know, anything else?” Alex asked.

“The Green Lantern said the alarm system for the only occupied building was faulty,” Kara said.

“Where did that guy go off too? He appeared out of nowhere and disappeared before anyone could talk to him,” Alex said.

“After the fires were dealt with, he said he wanted to talk to me. Next thing I know he’s trying to take me away with him to some Guardians or something. I fought him off and he just kind of left,” Kara said.

“Right… that could be an issue,” Alex said.

“Alex, if you’re about to tell me this is yet another problem for the pile I’m going to give up, destroy the city, then rule over whatever remains as my own,” Kara said.

“Well I hate to put the City at risk but it’s certainly not a good turn of events. We have very little information about the Green Lantern Corps but there’s a few files knocking around in the archive. All I can say off the top of my head is that they’re the good guys,” Alex said.

“So, you’re implying that for whatever reason, I’m now an enemy of the good guys,” Kara said.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it's all probably a misunderstanding. We can go back to headquarters and see what we can dig up. Your mother’s database might have something useful as well,” Alex said.

Kara was leaning on the balcony, looking at the scenes below. She spotted a familiar looking limo and focused on it. It pulled up in front of the building and sure enough Lena emerged out of it and headed straight inside. Kara gritted her teeth and rubbed her forehead, this day seemed to determined to pile on more problems.

“Look, Alex, I’m going to have to call you back,” she said.

“Why, what’s going on?” Alex said.

“Lena’s just arrived at CatCo for some reason. I’ll be needed,” Kara said.

“Remember, make things right with her. It’s more productive than destroying the city,” Alex said. Kara rolled her eyes and ended the call.

“You could have told me Lena was coming in today,” she said, dusting herself off as she hurried in. Jimmy immediately snapped out of his work.

“She didn’t tell me anything about a visit,” he said.

“Well she just walked through the front door,” she said.

“This is the last thing I need right now,” Jimmy said, scrambling to put his desk in some kind of order.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lena strode out of the lift and headed straight for the office. Winn turned to Kara, pointing at Lena with a confused look. She shrugged at him then returned her gaze to Lena coming toward them. She had blond-haired woman in tow. Jimmy stood up, his desk half clean.

Lena stepped in.

“Miss. Luthor, to what do we owe the pleasure,” he said.

“Please Mr. Olsen, don’t stand on my account,” Lena said, she glanced at Kara.

“Miss. Danvers,” she said. It was a cold acknowledgement.

“You didn’t tell me you were visiting,” Jimmy said.

“I hadn’t planned on it, but plans change,” she said looking back at her companion

“This is Samantha Arias, my C.F.O.,” Lena said. Sam stepped forward

“Hi, you can call me Sam,” she said, shaking Kara’s hand. This was the woman Jimmy was complaining about.

“This is Kara Danvers, and you already know James Olsen,” Lena said. Jimmy folded his arms.

“What’s going on?” Jimmy said.

“I’m sure you’re aware of the attacks this morning,” Sam said.

“The fires?” Kara said.

“Yes, well I made a list of all the places that were targeted today,” Sam said.

“Attacks? Targeted? This seems a bit forward,” Jimmy said. They looked at Sam, expecting her to carry on. She seemed vacant, after a few seconds Lena took over.

“Every single fire took place at an affiliate company of L-Corp,” Kara and Jimmy looked at each other.

“Now CatCo and the L-Corp building itself have been left untouched, probably due to higher security, but I have no doubt in my mind that won’t stay the case,” Lena said.

Winn had quickly gotten out of his chair and knocked on the door, Jimmy shooed him away but he came in anyway.

“Sorry, this can’t wait,” Winn said. The four of them watched him tap away at the screen on Jimmy’s desk.

All the monitors on the wall switched to the same image. It was a grey, armoured figure. The limbs had supports and scaffolds attached like an exoskeleton. The helmet covered the face and was featureless apart from two red glowing bars where the eyes would be. Winn pressed a button and the video began to play. The voice was filtered and robotic.

“Today you would have seen National City burning, I was responsible for this. You may see this as a deplorable act. And That I am a threat. But the locations I chose were all party to the real threat to us all.

For a long time Lex Luthor and his company rallied the world against aliens and drummed up a humanist rhetoric. His sister claimed that with Lex behind bars there would be a change, but L-Corp is a change in name and face only.

Violence follows her wherever she goes, Alien detectors were developed, and alien targeting bio-weapons have all come to fruition under her leadership. I will not stand by as L-Corp brings us all down, takes over National City and weaves the narrative as a saviour. Lena Luthor dabbles in philanthropy and moves to take over a media powerhouse to cover up the real goal, to make herself the highest authority on this world and mould it to how she sees fit.”

Kara was watching Lena throughout this speech, her face was stern, but Kara knew the comparison to her brother would hit her hard.

“Luthor destroyed the alien threat by ensuring they could never set foot on this planet again.” Footage of Daxamites turning to dust filled the screens.

“World-saving through a weapon more powerful and dangerous than anything humanity has ever seen. Perhaps it was noble, but how long until she decides that another species is undesirable for lesser crimes? How long before Luthor starts picking and choosing who may live on this world and who becomes dust?” Kara looked around the room, Jimmy was stroking his chin, Winn and Sam looked concerned whilst Lena maintained that steely expression of hers. The screen switched back to the armoured figure.

“I am Prometheus and I will not rest until the Luthor Empire is ash.” The video stopped, leaving the glowing red eyes of Prometheus on the screen. After a long silence Lena spoke up.

“Where did you find this?”

“It was just uploaded online and sent to all the major news outlets except for us,” Winn said.

Jimmy and Lena started talking but Kara was too distracted to listen, she had spotted Sam looking down at her hands and clenching her fists slowly. Sam closed her eyes and then her face seemed to change from concern to determination in a split-second.

“Kara… Kara?” Jimmy said. It brought both her and Sam back into the room.

“We need to get on top of this, look into it,” he said.

“Got it,” she said pulling out a notepad and pretending to write something down. She kept the corner of her eye on Sam, but her odd behaviour seemed to have stopped.

“We need to prepare a response to this,” Lena said, she paused to think. “Send everyone home for now, Sam, do the same for the L-Corp building.” Sam did not acknowledge her

“Sam?” a few seconds of blank staring later Sam sprung back to life.

“Yes, I’ll get right on it,” she left the room. Kara could see why Jimmy had been so frustrated with her.

“It’s just the stress of the new job, but trust me, she’s one of the best,” Lena said, her eyes still focused on the image of Prometheus. Jimmy's lack of response put a further air of tension in the room, Winn just looked around doing his best not to look at either Jimmy or Lena.

“I’m going back to my office to see what I can do in response to this Prometheus character,” Lena said, she turned to leave.

“Lena wait, can we talk?” Kara said. Lena’s expression hardened.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do Kara,” she said and left the room. Kara watched her walk away, it appeared Lena was in no mood to fix things either.

“That was the end of that.” Winn said, Kara glared at him.

“I’ll sort out CatCo, you two need to get to the D.E.O.” Jimmy said.


	6. Negotiations

“One day I might get used to that,” said Winn. Her eagerness to get away from CatCo lead to a less than pleasant flight for him.

“It's not that bad,” she said.

“Easy for you to say,” he said as he meandered over to his work-station. The familiar set-up of the D.E.O control room was quite the hive of activity. J'onn was in the centre of it all, commanding the room whilst agents and analysts scurried around. Ash and barely intact sections of charred steel were being carried around. Amongst all the white noise of the busy work space and the hurried chatter, the word Prometheus was being bandied about an awful lot. Numerous monitors blinked away in the dimly-lit room.

“Is agent Danvers here yet?” she asked.

“She's on her way back from investigating Prometheus' work,” J'onn said. Kara knew she had a limited window before Alex took her away from the investigation in a misguided attempt to cheer her up.

“I want to find Prometheus before this escalates, see what you can get from that video,” J'onn said.

“If robot-face has two brain-cells to rub together, any tracks would have been covered,” Winn said.

“Eliminate the simple first, if we can get a trace or there's a giveaway in the footage, I want to find it. That video is our only current lead and if we get lucky, they'll just be the one brain cell,” J'onn said. Kara sat next to Winn at his work-station, two sets of eyes would be better than one.

“Supergirl,” J'onn said, beckoning her over. Staying put, she looked at Winn, then back at J'onn.

“Yeah?” she said.

“A word,” he said, Kara was growing tired of this. It seemed whenever someone wanted to talk to her in this manner, things got worse.

“Can this wait, I want to catch this guy,” she said.

“or girl,” Winn interjected, Kara looked at the screen.

“That's looks like a pretty masculine physique to me,” Kara said.

“That could be any species or padding under there,” Winn said.

“Whatever,” she said, more concerned with J'onn making his way over.

“I'm just saying we can't rule anything out,” Winn said. Kara did not want to argue about this any further.

“I'll be brief,” J'onn said, Kara sighed.

“Go on then,” she said.

“You did good work today,” he said.

“Thanks,” Kara said, she could feel a “but” coming though.

“No casualties, minimal extra collateral damage. I just want to know why the occupied building wasn't your first priority,” he said.

“It was once I found out about it. The first bunch of sites I checked were totally unoccupied,” she said.

“Why didn't you check all of them, or talk to anyone in the fire service?” he said.

“I had to act quickly, you know that,” she said.

“That I do, but I need you here one-hundred percent. Your eagerness to get back into the fray might be affecting your judgement,” he said.

“Whether you want me here or not, I'm staying and I'm helping,” she said.

“That's not what I'm trying to say,” he said.

“Well what are you trying to say?” she said.

“I don't want you hurting yourself because you aren't ready,” he said.

“I'll be fine,” she said. J'onn stepped back.

“Okay, but look after yourself and remember there's no shame in holding back a bit,” he said.

Kara watched him go back to taking command of the room. He at least had the decency to merely imply she was a liability rather than outright say it.

“Bring up the video again, Winn,” she said.

They watched it through intently, trying to spot anything worth following up. A distinct shadow or sound that might give them some sort of indication for location. The filtered voice was giving nothing away.

“I'd say Prometheus should work on his delivery, it's coming across very monotone,” Winn said.

“Or her delivery,” Kara said.

“Touché. I'll see if I can do anything to clear it up,” he said. His efforts yielded no results. Time ticked away as they watched it over and over. Winn varied the speed, the brightness and they went through every frame to no avail. It was just an armoured figure with a disguised voice in a dark room, all the while constantly reminding her of Lena and in-turn, how bad things had gotten between them.

“You're welcome to watch that thing for the hundredth time,” Winn said as he got up.

“You can't just stop because you're bored,” she said.

“Yes I can. Besides I need coffee, then I'm going to see if our agents in the field have found anything, then I'm going to see if another trace will suddenly yield some results, then when it doesn't I'll check how the alarm systems were triggered, then when that also gives me nothing I'll probably go back to coffee,” he said. He began to walk off. “Then the vicious cycle repeats,” he said in an over-dramatic fashion.

It was this break in the monotony that made her realise Alex was yet to arrive, she surely would have come and pestered her by now. She debated whether to follow this absence up. Prometheus may have been boring her, but he also was not going to start nagging her to get out more or feel better any time soon. Eventually she gave in, coming back to this task later with fresh eyes might also spark an epiphany.

“Any word from...” she started, stopping as Alex walked onto the main floor.

“Alex,” Kara finished, giving her a look of disbelief as both Superman and the Green Lantern were walking next to her. J'onn stepped forward.

“This is unexpected, but it's good to see you back Superman,” J'onn said, taking him aside to talk with him. Alex was talking to Green Lantern.

“Have a look around, get a feel for the operation,” she said.

“Thank you, I will,” he said. His apparent improved mood dropped when he saw Kara. Despite this, he simply acknowledged her and started to explore the D.E.O. Kara grabbed Alex's arm and pulled her away, wanting to go somewhere more private.

“Woah, easy there,” Alex said. Winn walked passed them hurriedly, coffee in hand.

“Superman's back, how do I look?” he said, looking slightly worried.

“Winn...” she said, Winn cut her off immediately.

“You're right that doesn't matter, he'll be cool about it regardless.” Kara rolled her eyes as he started grinning from ear to ear and speed-walked out of view.

“Grip's getting a little tight there,” Alex said rubbing her arm. Kara let go. “Is it really that bad to see Superman again?”

“Not here,” Kara said, leading Alex away to her mother's database. They stopped, Kara did not hesitate to start grilling her.

“What the hell was that, waltzing in with those guys beside you?” Kara said.

“They just came at me on the way back, what was I supposed to say?” Alex said.

“No. A “No,” would have worked,” Kara said.

“Come on Kara, he's Superman,” she said, she tapped at the symbol on Kara's chest, “He's family.”

“This is the guy who said he'd never work with the D.E.O. again and you just roll out the welcome mat,” Kara said.

“Yes, and rather than push him away and hide, I'm trying to fix things,” Alex said.

Kara exhaled loudly, she activated the database to avoid responding.

“Green Lanterns” she said. The image of her mother materialised and started speaking.

“The Green Lantern Corps, origin planet Oa. A force set up by the Guardians, a group of ancient and immortal aliens. The members of the Corps are equipped with Green power rings and they patrol the universe acting as lawmen and mediators. The Green Lantern of Krypton's sector, Tomar-Re, assisted in efforts to try and stabilise the planet's core. He was unsuccessful.”

“So, they're space-police,” Kara said. She needed more, there were still too many gaps. She switched the database off.

“Now where are you going?” Alex said.

“Kal's here, he seems to know this Green Lantern and I want answers,” Kara said.

“Slow down, sis” Alex said.

“No, I need this off my plate so I can get back to dealing with our mystery Kryptonian and now this Prometheus thing,” Kara said. She made a mental note to come back here to ask about World-Killer later.

“Look, despite the fact you knocked him around a bit, Green Lantern seemed much calmer with Superman as a go-between,” Alex said.

“So what?” Kara said.

“So maybe do your best to keep things smooth with the go-between,” Alex said.

“I'll be sunshine and smiles,” Kara said through gritted teeth.

“Kara...” Alex said.

“What now?” Kara said, starting to let her frustration get the better of her.

“Just... stay strong,” Alex had paused beforehand, as if letting go of whatever it was she really wanted to say.

“I will,” Kara said. It seemed small but those three words had done more for her than anything that had been said for the past few weeks. It was a reminder that despite her irritating methods, Alex did really have her best interests at heart.

She returned to the main floor, Hal was now talking with J'onn. Winn was hovering around Kal with that same stupid grin on his face. She could feel everyone else in the room's lack of concentration, their curiosity piquing at the presence of these two heroes and why they were here. It was hard, but ignoring the wandering eyes and ears was the best way forward.

“You do actually know this guy then,” she said. Kal turned around, she had cut in to a conversation he was having with Winn. Winn got the message from Kara's stern face and backed away.

“Hello to you too,” he said. His greeting was more cautious than anything. “And yes, a Green Lantern appeared when I first started doing the whole Superhero thing. Something about making sure an alien presence on Earth wasn't too disruptive. They check in every now and then, Hal became this sector's Green lantern a few years ago.”

“Well he seems to be happy with you,” she said.

“We've had some adventures,” he said.

“Is this one of them?” she said.

“I didn't quite believe him when he came to me and said you had lashed out,” he said.

“Lashed out? He tried to detain me with no explanation,” she said, weary of what the agents in the room were hearing. He put his hands out, as if to say he did not want to go down this line of conversation.

“Whatever went on, I'm here to help clear the air,” he said.

“So why am I firmly in the sights of the Lanterns? He only vaguely mentioned something about the Daxamites to me,” she said.

“According to Hal, that weapon I told you not to use has caused quite a stir in the galactic community. The surviving Daxamites seem to be telling everyone Earth is dangerous,” he said. Kal's smug wording made her nostrils flare, but she did what she could to rein herself in.

“But they attacked us, there was no choice” she said.

“There's always a choice, there's always another way,” he said. He was not making it easy for her to keep her cool.

“Spare the lecture. It sounds more to me that the Daxamite survivors are embellishing the story in their favour,” she said.

“It would seem so, the Guardians of the universe don't know the full story and just want to hear your side before they do anything,” he said.

“This sounds a lot like I'm on trial here,” Kara said.

“It's not a trial, just a talk,” Hal said, having joined the conversation with J'onn in tow. Yet another one of these talks had wormed its way into her life. The four of them stood there, the tension was palpable, but Kara soldiered through.

“Whatever it is, I can't just leave whilst the city has two major threats running amok,” Kara said.

“The accusation of Earth is the larger scale problem,” Hal said.

“I can hold the fort, besides until we get further in our investigations there isn't a lot you can do,” J'onn said. The three of them were looking at her expectantly. She wanted to say no, to tell the lot of them to leave her be and go back to the safety of her apartment. However deep down she knew what the right thing to do was, it pained her to admit it but Hal was right. She could not stand by and let the whole planet suffer the consequences because she was too stubborn to defend her actions.

“Ugh, fine. I'll go see these Guardians of yours,” she said.

“I'm glad you saw reason,” Hal said.

“If it's alright I'd like to go with her,” Kal said. She was not sure how to take this, having a familiar face would certainly be welcome but she could not ignore the strained relationship they had developed.

“That's probably a good idea,” Hal said, eyeing Kara cautiously.

“I can make that work, just don't keep them too long. I can only do so much.” J'onn said. Everyone was agreed but Kara's mixture of nerves and annoyance made her feel a little sick. She was going into this situation completely blind and dealing with an uneasy relationship with Kal. The only representative of these Guardians she had come across had a distinctly negative view of her, which just added to the list of issues.

“This thing has just enough power to get us to Oa and back, so I say we get a move on,” Hal said, looking at his ring. The three of them flew out of the D.E.O. together and into the sky. The familiar construct of a ship appeared around them, at least there were no shackles this time.


	7. Guardians

“Are we there yet?” she said. Hal was in the front, apparently driving this construct of a ship. There was no obvious way for him to see where he was going but appeared confident. He did not bother looking back at her.

“Hilarious,” he said. She wanted to ask him what to expect and to ask Kal why he insisted on coming along. Instead she just sat there, noting the lack of her surroundings in the green box. Hal's construct was opaque so there were no stars or planets to watch as they rocketed through space. There was no window to stare out of, though one was not needed to feel they were going at an incredibly high speed, the force was almost able to push her back into her seat.

“Can you tell me what we've gotten into,” it was the first thing Kal had said on this trip of theirs.

“I'm not trying to spring anything on you. The Guardians genuinely want to piece together the conflict between Daxam and Earth,” Hal said.

“So, when we tell them the truth, they'll clear up Earth's name?” Kal said.

“I would hope so,” Hal said, glancing back at Kara. She stayed quiet as being forced to dwell on these events had her riled. The less detail she could get away with, the better.

“Are the Guardians still as grandiose as I remember?” Kal said. Hal chuckled,

“Only you could find a nice way to say they have massive sticks up their arses,” he said.

“I'll take that as a yes,” Kal said, he turned to her. “It's best not to mess around with these people.” Kara was hardly in the mood to try and charm her way out of this anyway.

Kal kept asking questions, the gist from Hal was that there was no nuance or trick required. If anything, that would just cloud the Guardian’s judgement. She would remain guarded until she encountered them for herself though. The pressure pushing her back started to lift and the ship was slowing down.

“We've arrived,” Hal said, she wandered how he knew that with no windows. The construct faded away, leaving them floating on the outskirts of a grand city bathed in silver and green. Sleek towers stretched into the glowing sky, its colours changed and refracted as the light danced off the gleaming architecture. Paths and tunnels on multiple levels stretched out as far as the eye could see between the clean and smooth towers. Save for small, blue creatures dotted around it seemed largely empty. It was unlike anything she had seen, even the warm glow of Krypton paled in comparison to it. She began to gawk as they flew ever closer to the city.

“Yep, it had that effect on me too first time I saw it,” Kal said, taking in the view himself.

“You've been here before?” she said.

“I’ve helped out the Green Lanterns a few times. I've ended up with a bit of respect and a little bit of sway around here. I'll tell you about it sometime,” he said.

“We aren't here to sightsee, follow me” Hal said.

They travelled through the city and it only got more impressive as they were led through. The warm aura of light this place gave off from every surface got increasingly green as they went on. A large, pink creature with a remarkably square jawline flew up alongside Hal. He wore a similar uniform and had an identical green ring.

“Hey, Kilowog,” Hal said.

“Good to see you, Hal. What brings you back to Oa?” he said.

“Seeing the Guardians,” Hal said. Kilowog laughed

“What did you do this time?” Hal briefly looked back after this comment, Kara raised an eyebrow at him.

“No, I'm taking them to see the Guardians,” he said.

“Oh, right. Well if you have time it'll be good to catch up,” Kilowog said.

“We'll see, my sector refuses to let up, I’ve hardly been home,” he said.

“Yeah a lot of us have the same problem, I hear they're about expand the Corps to two lanterns per sector,” Kilowog said.

“It's about time, I’ve been pushing that idea since I joined. Anyway, I'll try and catch you later yeah?” Hal said. They exchanged goodbyes and Kilowog flew off in a different direction.

“I hope the Guardians can speak our language that well,” Kara said.

“The ring translates,” Hal said. There seemed to be a lot more to the rings than met the eye, she wandered what else they were capable of.

Her train of thought was quickly de-railed when she saw a bizarre structure on the horizon. The green glow that now dominated the sky was emanating off a literal green lantern. It was giant and sat conspicuously in the middle of the city structures, the shining spires reflecting the green light back at it. Sprawling paths of the city left a perfect circle around it as if it were surrendering space to it.

“Is that why you're called Green Lanterns?” she asked.

“There's a long answer and a short answer to that question,” Hal said.

“The short answer is yes,” Kal said.

As they flew further into the centre, she began to spot more Green glows hovering about the place or walking along the paths. There were creatures of all shapes and sizes, each uniform she saw was slightly unique to the wearer, but it was the same distinct colour scheme of green and black, along with a large green ring on all of them. Hal began to descend toward a spire, it was much taller than everything around it by a large margin. Whoever designed it certainly built to impress. Hal stood by the entrance which had the same circular symbol as Hal's uniform and ring.

“Wait here,” he said. He stepped inside, leaving her alone with Kal. He put his hand on her shoulder.

“I'm with you all the way,” he said, Kara looked at his hand.

“Are you?” Kara said, brushing it off.

“Of course,” he said.

“You didn't exactly approve of my methods then, I doubt you’ve changed your mind,” she said.

“That doesn't change the fact Daxam attacked and that your methods were purely defensive,” he said. Even with a little suspicion remaining, it was reassuring to hear.

The minutes went by and a soothing breeze was in the air, even this place’s weather seemed perfect. Despite this moment of relative calm, Kara was stuck thinking just how much sway Kal had here and what exactly that entailed. The door opened and Hal popped out.

“Come with me,” he said, holding the door open for them.

She looked to Kal, he gave a slight nod and smiled. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. The interior was just as glorious as the outside, the light bounced around the floors and walls, giving off the same effect as the city skyline.

Hal lead them through to a chamber with a large, round table. There was a lot of empty space in the room and even the table itself had the same shine as everything else seemed to on this planet. He beckoned for them to go in first. He closed the door behind them and stood by it with his arms folded. Sitting around the table were a council of stout, blue aliens. Their heads seemed big for their bodies but apart from that they looked like small, blue humans. Each one wore red and white robes with the Lantern symbol.

“Have a seat,” one said, gesturing to two empty chairs. She let Kal move first, when it was her turn to sit, all of them watched her every move. Their prying eyes made it feel like they were judging every aspect of her just from how she took the chair.

“Welcome back, Superman,” one said.

“Please, call me Kal,” he said.

“Very well, I assume this is the counter-part known as Supergirl,” said the Guardian.

“Kara Zor-El,” she said, Kal's shadow seemed to reach across the galaxy, even on a totally different planet she immediately felt like an extra compared to him. She waited for the Guardians to introduce themselves, but they did not extend this courtesy.

“Our operative, Hal Jordan, claims you resisted coming here and remained reluctant when summoned a second time.” Their avoidance of any introduction caught her off guard.

“I'm sorry, can I get some names? I don't know who I'm addressing,” she said. Her super-hearing picked up a very faint groan from Hal.

“We are Guardians, you address us as such,” one said.

“No I...” she stopped herself, figuring this was probably the only answer she would get from them.

“Why were you resistant?” a Guardian asked.

“I don't suppose your operative mentioned that he was incredibly vague before trying to detain me and that he met me saving a bunch of civilians from certain death?” she said.

“He did, he said he was overly-quick to act and that your efforts in protecting your city were admirable,” one said. Kara heard a small cough from Hal, it echoed conspicuously around the room. She looked back at him, he avoided eye-contact. Despite his attitude toward her he at least had the guts to be honest.

“However, that was not the question,” the Guardian continued. “Why were you resistant?”

“A man I didn't know tried to take me away on behalf of an authority I hadn't heard of, away from the planet I protect,” she said.

“Noted,” the Guardian said.

“So, you claim to be Earth's protector,” another said. She shifted over to face another Guardian, sitting on the other end of the table.

“Well not exactly, I do my best to keep people safe” she said.

“A Daxamite would disagree,” the Guardian said.

“They attacked...” she said, another Guardian interrupted her.

“The biological nature of the weapon used against the Daxamites is not only morally questionable, but Hal Jordan claims it also breaks Earth's own agreed conventions,”

“It was a last resort, all other forms of attack available would have been ineffective,” she said.

“You adhere to the laws until it is inconvenient?” the Guardian said. They spoke in a consistent monotone. Such accusations were almost harder to swallow when delivered so flatly.

“I tried to stop them with their own laws. I challenged their Queen, Rhea, to single combat. The invasion was called off in preparation and the winner would decide the fate of the planet,” she said.

“Uncivilised, but quick and effective with minimal casualties,” the Guardian said.

“These were not the events that transpired, Hal Jordan's ring detected the altered atmosphere,” another Guardian said.

“When Rhea, began to lose the duel, she broke off and ordered the continuation of the invasion,” she said.

“That's when you used the weapon?” The Guardian said. She rolled her shoulders and sat up with a strong posture.

“Yes,” she said.

“A weapon developed specifically for the purpose of poisoning the atmosphere for only Daxamites?” Another Guardian said. The way they took turns in grilling her was infuriating, accusations bouncing around the room from all directions.

“Yes,” she said, looking at each expressionless face before her.

“Did the shared past and feud between Krypton and Daxam accelerate your willingness to use the weapon?” Kara was getting aggravated, before she could retort Kal leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

“May I?” Kal said. Kara nodded, they seemed to twist everything she said into a negative.

“You may speak freely,” a Guardian said. 

“The weapon was not designed by an official authority or agency. It was originally developed by a radical off-shoot known as Cadmus to eliminate all alien life. It was re-purposed to only target the threatening force, no-one associated with Kara or I requested its manufacture,” he said.

“Noted, however such division toward alien life re-affirms that Earth is not ready to become part of a larger galactic community. Such instability cannot be ignored,” a Guardian said.

“The weapon was also actively re-developed. Not being the original creator excuses little. In addition, it seems unlikely Krypton and Daxam’s sordid past had no part of the decision to use such methods,” another Guardian said. Accusations of prejudice against Daxam after sacrificing Mon-El were not easy to stomach, she wanted to steer the conversation away from this.

“Rhea ignored her own people's laws and targeted civilians. Bystanders and hospitals were her main targets. Conventional Earth weaponry was ineffective, if I had delayed any further it would have cost thousands of innocent lives, possibly the entire planet if I hadn't used it at all,” she said.

“This was not mentioned in the Daxamite reports, we will need to verify this” one said.

“Figures,” Kara said, folding her arms. There was a brief silence across the table.

“This shifts perspective,” one said.

“The Earth's authorities still provoked an attack from a superior power and resorted to extreme methods very quickly when they realised they were outmatched. This is not the behaviour of a balanced people,” another said. They seemed to be relentless in their efforts to undermine her.

“We didn't provoke them,” she said.

“Reports suggest the Daxamite prince was being held in Earth's custody,” one said.

“Custody? He chose to stay on Earth. When he told his Mother, she refused to accept it so he sought refuge. That's why she launched the invasion,” she said.

“That seems unlikely, why would he choose to stay?” the Guardian said. Kal tried to speak, but she cut in before he could.

“He landed on Earth by accident long before the rest of the Daxamites showed up and grew fond of life on the planet.” Kal looked at her with slight confusion as the Guardians discussed this point. She shook her head at him, she could not bear the thought of discussing her relationship with Mon-El. Especially in this environment and with these Guardians questioning everything so aggressively.

“That seems most irrational,” a Guardian said.

“We aren't all such rational creatures,” Kal said, looking at her whilst he said it.

“You defend Kara Zor-El's actions, but where were you when all this occurred. You are well known for your willingness to fight the unjust,” one said. Kal’s confident posture hunched, he hesitated slightly before he spoke.

“Rhea used a mind-altering substance on me when I went to confront her. Kara knocked some sense into me,” he said.

“Did this occur before or after use of the weapon?” one asked. Kara stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes. Kal shifted in his seat.

“Before,” he finally said.

“So where were you when the weapon was deployed and used?” The Guardian said.

“In my weakened state I couldn't fight directly so I looked for alternative means to end the Daxamite threat,” he said.

“Would you have used the weapon yourself?” The Guardian said.

“Kara used it to defend the civilians Rhea was targeting,” he said.

“Would you have used the weapon yourself?” The Guardian repeated. Kal looked at her, then at the Guardian. He hung his head. Her heart stopped.

“No.”


	8. Doors

The word seemed to reverberate around the room. The Guardians shifted their gaze from Kal back to her.

“We're taking a break,” Kara said.

“We shall wait here,” a Guardian said. She was already gone when the Guardian spoke and would have had no qualms with leaving without permission. She stormed by a conflicted looking Hal as she swung open the door into the blandly shining lobby. Kal had followed her quickly.

She folded her arms and scowled at him.

“I have your back all the way, he says,” she said, Kal tried to speak but she cut him off.

“I've got respect, I've got sway, he says.”

“I couldn't lie to them about that,” he said.

“You couldn't swallow your damn pride for one question?” She said, Kal lost his usual calm demeanour.

“Don't give me that, I told you not to use that weapon and now you're lying about Mon-El,” he said. She furrowed her brow.

“What they said about you fighting the unjust, that's practically gushing praise from those dullards. You could have ended it there and then,” she said.

“Right now, they have no reason to believe Mon-El would choose to stay. They think that Earth swung first and that you’re just a Kryptonian with a grudge,” he said. Kal changing the subject just aggravated her further.

“Tell me you won't mention it to them,” she said.

“No,” he said, standing firm. Kara glared at him.

“Promise me Kal, promise me that you won't put me through that,” she said.

“I'm not letting you implicate Earth and yourself because you're still hurting over this,” his face was stern, though his expression softened slightly moved back to the door. “I'm going in and telling them. It will be hard now, but they'll be a time when you thank me for this.” His tone was sad despite his apparent stubbornness. Kara watched him go through the door. Her fists clenched, her nose began to twitch, she growled and her eyes glowed red as she struggled to contain her anger at Kal's self-righteousness. She waited a few moments and took deep breaths to try and let the feeling pass. The serene surroundings did nothing to calm her as she imagined what was going to happen on the other side of that door. It took much longer than she would have liked to be anywhere near a level enough mental state to deal with the Guardians. She was standing in front of the closed door, her hand lay on it but she could not quite bring herself to go in. She felt like she was losing this contest with the door, it was unyielding whilst her mind was racked with doubt. However, the door seemed to give in as she felt the weight of it come off her hand. She quickly brought her hand down to her side as a surprised Hal was suddenly right in her face.

“Kara Zor-El, we have more questions,” a Guardian said from across the room.

“You don't have to listen to them you know, come in when you're ready” Hal said under his breath. She pushed him out the way and walked slowly back to her seat. Every eye in the room was watching her. Before she could even settle in the chair a Guardian started up once more.

“Do you confirm this relationship with the Daxamite Prince?” Kal had clearly not even bothered to wait for her to come back in. He probably would not have had the nerve if she was sitting right next to him.

“It's true,” she said, there was no point denying it now.

“What was the nature of this relationship?” The Guardian asked. It was exactly what she had feared.

“We were... close,” she said.

“Physical, emotional or both,” the Guardian said.

“I really don't see how that's relevant,” she said.

“The relevance is to determine the likelihood of the Prince staying willingly, now answer the question,” the Guardian said. Mustering the will to co-operate was difficult as she sat their fuming.

“Both,” she said.

“How long did this relationship last?” The Guardian asked, they wanted to break down every aspect of her time with Mon-El to deem if it was worthy enough for their judgement.

“Long enough to matter,” she said, not caring at how dissatisfied they seemed at that answer.

“But you killed the Prince when the weapon was used,” a Guardian said, this sparked further discussion amongst the Guardians, but she had stopped listening.

All she did was replay the event in her mind, picturing perfectly every second of loading Mon-El into that pod. Feeling his pain, hearing him struggle to breathe as the air itself started to kill him. It was the last time she saw him. Her eyes were blurred from the tears and she struggled to speak, so all she had managed to do was put her hand on the glass. Mon-El had put his hand over hers, though they were separated by the pod it almost seemed like she could feel his hand’s warmth before he pulled it away to launch himself into the unknown and out of her life. All of that from a decision she had made.

“He survived.” She had interrupted a Guardian mid-sentence. She was not looking at any one of them in particular, just staring into the middle distance.

“How?” a Guardian asked. She did not answer, more memories of their time together flooded back into her mind's eye. Her hand was shaking under the table so she clenched it and tried to keep it steady.

“Kara Zor-El, how did he survive?” The Guardian said. She did not answer, Kal did not let the silence linger and started answering the question for her. She dwelled on what she had lost, on what she had done to make it happen. Kal was able to walk away with his morality intact, going back to Lois and his perfect life in Metropolis. He had abandoned her then and he had done it again here, all in the name of his code.

“Kal will answer the rest of your questions for me,” she said, getting up. He had already done his damage, if he could not undo it then she had no chance of getting out of this clean anyway.

“We'd rather here your explanation of events,” a Guardian said.

“I don't care,” she said, refusing to be in that room any longer.

“It would be unwise to leave before our questions are answered,” the Guardian said.

“I packed the one I loved on a rocket to nowhere because his own people's brutality was more than the Earth could take. Does that answer your damn questions?” she said.

The Guardians began to discuss amongst themselves, totally unphased by her outburst. Her patience had truly run out. Kal could say whatever he liked, she was done.

She got up and walked away, no-one tried to stop her. She kept going until she was outside the building itself and began to pace.

It had only been a few seconds before the door tentatively opened, it was Hal.

“I'm not going back in there,” she said, punching a dent in the wall.

“Woah, that's not why I'm here,” he said, backing off.

“Then what do you want?” she said.

“To check if you're alright,” he said.

“Since when do you care about that?” She said.

“Look, I know I've been a bit hostile,” he said, she guffawed.

“Alright I've been a total dick,” he said. She squinted at him, temporarily distracted from her turmoil.

“You've changed your tone awfully fast,” she said.

“I'm a hot-head, you can ask the Guardians, about that,” he said, cracking a smile.

“Uh-huh,” she said, unconvinced.

“Look, I've been on the receiving end of a panel like that more than once. I know how frustrating it is,” he said.

“They're always like that?” she said.

“Pretty much,” he said.

“And you choose to work with them,” she said.

“It's hard at times, but those guys created the Green Lantern Corps to help everyone. It's worth putting up with a few stiffs to help protect the innocent,” he said.

“Except for Earth,” she said. Hal sighed.

“I've been fighting that fight since the ring first chose me. That “Earth isn't ready to join the galactic community” line has been said to me more times than I can count. Hell, it's why I had such a short fuse with you, from what I'd heard I thought you'd undone all my hard work,” he said.

“If you showed up on Earth more publicly and more often, that might help the entire situation,” she said.

“Trust me, I've said it all to them before. They always tell me to think on a more galactic scale, or to stop thinking like a human and start thinking like a Lantern. In fairness to them, there are a lot of planets out there with bigger problems,” he said.

“Yes, well I'm pretty sure Earth's reputation is safe now Kal has ensured the blame lies entirely on my decision making,” she said.

“Your relationship with the Prince changes things, it shows the situation was dire enough to sacrifice the one you loved. The Guardians might barely register on the emotional spectrum themselves, but they know the strength that lies in it, it's why they created the green power-rings in the first place,” he said.

“Forgive me if I'm sceptical,” she said.

“Fair enough, but I'll vouch for you in there,” he said.

“I'm not going back in,” she said.

“You don't have to, Kal can fill in the gaps,” he said. She looked at him flatly.

“I'll make sure he doesn't throw you under any more buses,” he said, she did not appreciate the joke. He set off back in the building.

“Wait,” she said.

“Yeah?” he said, turning back

“Would you have done it?” she asked. Hal ran his hands through his hair.

“Honestly? I have no idea. I can only be thankful I was never put in the same position you were in,” he said.

“That's a cop out and you know it,” she said.

“I was in the air force before this,” he said, waggling his ring-finger. “I know sometimes you have no choice but to take lives. You were put in a lose-lose scenario and made the hard choices, that makes you good in my book,” he said. She let him go and stopped to think. Reassurance had come from the last place she had expected, it had caught her off-guard. Any positivity was quickly undercut by the memories of Rhea and Mon-El forcing their way back in to her mind. She tried to clear them out, to let the breeze flow over her ears and brush through her hair. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing again. She should be calm, this was probably as close to closure as she would get, but these demons continued to roar. Her expression tightened as she remembered that the threats back home still lingered and how she was leaving her part in this story to other's hands. The hands of a man that until a few minutes ago showed her nothing but hostility and Kal, who valued his reputation more than his own cousin.

Her mind raged on whilst she waited there, unaware of how long she was pacing in her own world until she was startled by the door opening next to her, it was Hal again.

“Come on,” he said.

“How many times do I have to tell you I'm not going back in there?” she said.

“No more questions for you, I promise,” he said. She contemplated her options, if anything she could always leave again if the Guardians provoked her.

The Guardians were still all seated in the chamber, Kal was now standing. One Guardian sat in the centre then stood up.

“It would appear there was wrong-doing on both sides of this conflict. We shall not act on it for now. We will do what we can to dispel the inaccurate rumours and reports from the Daxamites,” he said. Another Guardian took over.

“However, Hal Jordan shall keep a closer eye on Earth and the operations of this D.E.O., we cannot let such actions go unchecked. In addition, we will attempt to further clarify the events by sending Lanterns to search for the Daxamite Prince. The fact he has not re-emerged after all this time is not promising, but his account would clear up matters for good,” the Guardian said. That was it, the verdict was to let it all go and try to find Mon-El. This should have made her happy, but it only cast doubt in her mind and prolonged any closure she had hoped for. She refused to have her hopes raised by the Lantern’s search. If they found him, she would have to go through knowing he was alive and well but never able come back to her, or worse, finding out he had had not survived at all.

“Come on Kara, let's go home,” Kal said. She left wordlessly, once outside, that familiar Green ship appeared around her and the three of them were on their way.

“How could you do that to me Kal?” she said.

“I told the truth, Kara. I won’t pretend to know your pain and I’m sorry I had to do it, but I had no choice,” he said, she did not respond. It would be a quiet journey home.


	9. Arrival

Hal had brought them straight back to the D.E.O.. The room was significantly less busy than when they left, though Prometheus’ face still littered screens all over the place.

“You're here sooner than I expected,” J'onn said.

“The Guardians are an efficient bunch,” Hal said.

“And the outcome?” J'onn said.

“A search for Mon-El will be launched, I've also been ordered to check in on all D.E.O. activity,” Hal said.

“Anything else?” J'onn asked.

“For now, no,” Hal said.

“Very well. How often will you come in?” J'onn said.

“It'll vary on how often I can get back to Earth. The Guardians also confirmed to me that there will be another Green Lantern in the sector soon, so they'll come in as well once they've been integrated into the corps,” Hal said.

“And who will that be?” J'onn said.

“Don't know yet, a Green Lantern ring will be deployed and it will choose who wields it,” Hal said.

Kara started to tune out of the boring conversation and looked around the room, people were still working away at the Prometheus video and others had to comb through that strange World-Killer blog post Winn had found. That was when she realised Winn was conspicuously missing.

“He's following up a lead on Prometheus,” Alex said, having come over to her.

“How did...” Kara said.

“I knew you'd want to throw yourself right back at the bad guys,” Alex said.

“Where is this lead?” Kara said.

“Oh no you don't, you're going home and I'm coming with you. We'll get some ice-cream and put on some bad movies whilst you tell me everything that happened,” Alex said.

“It went fine,” Kara said.

“The look on your face and the way you stomped away from Kal says otherwise,” Alex said.

“I don't stomp,” Kara said. At times Alex could read her like a book, it was frustrating and comforting at the same time.

“I'm not taking no for an answer,” Alex said, feigning extreme seriousness.

“Later, okay? I'm still processing everything,” Kara said. Stalling was the best she could do and after everything that had happened today, being forced to talk about it might actually be a release.

“Good,” she said as she walked away, she turned back to get in one last word. “Oh and having pre-empted this little conversation, I've ordered everyone not to tell you anything about our investigations until tomorrow. You're taking a break no matter what.”

Kara grunted. A break was just about acceptable but there was no way she would sit completely out of the loop. The agents here would keep quiet and be vigilant for eavesdropping. Winn would be a pushover but searching the whole city would take too long.

She checked the time, it was early evening. An idea popped into her head, it was not a good one, but it was all she had. At that moment Hal and J'onn came over to her.

“I've been debriefed, it seems to be a positive outcome,” J'onn said. Kara barely acknowledged him.

“I'm off. Got to recharge the ring,” Hal said, he extended his hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you Supergirl, hope to work with you again soon.” She loosely shook his hand, he winked at her then flew off.

“It's been a long day for you, get some rest and we'll pick this up tomorrow,” J'onn said, it suited her fine. She wanted to follow up on her bad idea and also wanted to get out of there in case Kal tried to talk to her again. She left shortly after re-affirming she would get nothing more here, courtesy of Alex's orders. She made sure not to tread too heavily to avoid giving her any further satisfaction.

Her bad idea required a quick trip to her apartment to change back into Kara Danvers and then it was off to L-Corp. Soon enough she was in the lift, tapping her foot as she watched the floor numbers slowly increase. She was surprised to see how many staff members were around, slowing down her journey to the top floor as they filed in and out. Whilst she thought everyone would have gone home from the late hour and the Prometheus threat, she knew for certain Lena would still be in her office. She also had no doubt in her mind that Lena would have investigated Prometheus herself. Her tenacity would surely have turned out something she could use.

Prometheus was not the bad part of this idea, dealing with Lena was. She had no idea how she felt toward her after the CatCo acquisition and being on the receiving end of her frosty demeanour. Hopefully she could just skip that entirely, find out any intelligence on Prometheus and be on her way. If anything, having something to work with might mean she was less distracted when dealing with Alex later.

The lift doors parted and she walked straight through to Lena's office.

“I'm afraid she's busy,” was all Lena's assistant could manage. Kara had already left her behind by the end of the sentence. The office was as neat and orderly as ever, even in a time of crisis the impeccable white office reflected Lena’s stalwart nature. She was at her desk with her C.F.O., Sam Arias. They had been staring at a laptop and several papers strewn around the desk. They looked up from their work when she came in.

“Now is not a good time, Miss Danvers,” Lena said, her expressionless face and refusing to use her first name was a bad start.

“This will only take a minute,” Kara said.

“If you'd like to step outside, I can sort out an appointment for you,” Lena's assistant said. Both Kara and Lena shot her with a look, she shut her mouth and stepped back.

“I'll wait outside,” she said, rushing to the safety of her desk as quickly as she could. After she left, Kara and Lena locked eyes. Kara had not budged and was waiting to see Lena's reaction.

“I can go outside as well,” Sam said.

“No, you stay. She goes,” Lena said, not breaking eye contact.

“I just want to know if you've found anything on Prometheus and I'll get out of your hair,” Kara said. Lena stood up.

“Fine,” Lena said, Kara whipped out her notebook. “I can tell you after the attacks just about everyone outside of this building are scared to associate themselves with me. Add to that the extreme complications it has introduced to the CatCo deal and I can tell you this. Prometheus is a total nuisance.”

“That's it?” Kara said, slamming her notebook shut. “No leads? Nothing substantial?”

“Firstly, that's your job, not mine, Miss Danvers. Secondly whilst you've apparently been spinning your wheels all day, Sam and I have been cleaning up the havoc Prometheus has caused on my assets,” Lena said. Sam already looked uncomfortable and clearly did not want to be any further part of this.

“Oh, is that why you didn't send your people home? Make a big show of keeping everyone safe at CatCo but keep your own people about to protect your precious business?” Kara said.

“The people here volunteered to stay, they want to show that they can't be scared away by a lunatic with a grudge against me,” Lena said. Her face was stern, but her cracking voice and glistening eyes gave away her true feelings on the Kara's comment. It was only then that Kara realised she had snapped unfairly at her.

“Lena, I...” Kara was cut off by a speaker-phone, it was Lena's assistant.

“Miss Luthor, are you expecting someone else this evening?” Lena looked at the speaker-phone, pressing the button to respond.

“No, is someone waiting?” she said.

“I've just been informed a helicopter has landed and...” it cut off. Lena pressed the button again and gave Kara a nervous look.

“And what?” she asked. All she got in return was static. Lena got up to check what was happening, as she did so Kara looked to Sam and recognised the vacant expression that had taken over her face.

“What the…?” Lena said. Kara switched her focus back to Lena, she was backing away.

“Lena Luthor, Samantha Arias. You are coming with me.” She recognised the voice instantly, that threatening, filtered drone. Sam yelped as sure enough, standing at the entrance of the office was the armoured figure of Prometheus. Kara tried to use her X-Ray vision, but it failed to penetrate the armour’s exterior.

“We're not going anywhere with you,” Lena said.

“I have no intention of harming you, but I will make you come with me,” Prometheus said. Kara gritted her teeth, one of her targets had come straight to her whilst she was stuck as Kara Danvers. All she could do was stand by and wait for a moment to get out of sight.

“I have no time for… your…,” Prometheus' speech slowed down significantly until he just stopped. The dim glow from his facemask gave nothing away, so she turned to see what the distraction was. Sam had stopped cowering and was now hovering slightly above the ground. All three of them were transfixed on her. She began to laugh. It was slow and unsettling. She ripped her shirt open to reveal a black suit with a distinctive symbol. It was the skull that had been cropping up all over the city, the World Killer symbol.

The second she revealed it Prometheus had dived at her. The metallic shoulder drove into her knees, upending her. Having hit the ground hard, all it took was a gentle push off the ground for the exo-skeleton to spring the heavy figure up gracefully. Sam corrected herself and took a swing at Prometheus. Prometheus put up an arm to block, holding it close to the face in the stance of a boxer. Even the block and the armour could not take the full force of a Kryptonian punch. The arm gave way and a chunk of the helmet cracked. Shards flew across the room revealing a small amount of Prometheus' face. She saw a grey eye and tufts of brown hair poke out. Prometheus quickly refocused and ducked a follow-up swing, then countered with a body-blow. The punch landed with a heavy thud, the exo-skeleton clearly strengthening the hit. She imagined anything other than a Krpytonian would at least have been staggered. Prometheus did not let the punch’s minimal impact dissuade a follow-up, grabbing Sam by the shoulders and throwing her to the opposite end of the office. She crashed into a some shelves and they fell forward onto her.

“Get out of here,” Prometheus said. The filter's effect had partially dropped, from what she saw of the face and the pitch of the voice made it obvious that Prometheus was male. Everything had escalated so quickly that Kara and Lena had just watched it all unfold.

He briefly turned to them.

“I said go.” He shouted, as soon as Sam burst from under the shelves, he turned back to jump at her. Kara knew she would have to move quickly. Prometheus seemed to be a capable fighter, but he was clearly outmatched. She saw Sam's eyes glow, in the split-second before the beams came out Prometheus had landed and side-stepped. Kara had dived at Lena to tackle her out of the path of the wayward beam. Prometheus strafed toward to the desk, never letting his defensive stance drift away from Sam. He punched down at the centre of Lena's desk, breaking it in half. He swung round and threw one of the halves at Sam. She punched through it with ease, but Prometheus had immediately grabbed the other half as a crude bludgeon. It shattered across Sam’s body with full force, hitting hard and splinters of wood showered the office. This attack gave Kara the window she needed to get out of there. She helped Lena up and ran out with her. Once in the lift, Kara whipped out her phone and texted Alex.

“Kryptonian. L-Corp,” She could deal with Alex's wrath for ignoring her advice later, for now she needed the D.E.O. on the scene.

She got a quick response that simply read

“Got it.” Now with reinforcements in-bound to help clear the area and reduce collateral, she just had to make sure Lena was safe and come back as Supergirl. 


	10. Power

The lift felt painfully slow, if Prometheus failed to hold off Sam then there was nothing to stop her flying away and continuing her rampage.

“She told me she was having trouble balancing work and her daughter, but this… Lena trailed off.

“You had no way of knowing,” Kara said. Lena said nothing more, it was probably due to a combination of shock and yet another spat between them. The lift's calm music seemed to elevate the tension between them more than any silence could. They hit the ground floor, some D.E.O agents were already on the scene. Alex must have sent them straight over from one of the burnt-out sites.

“Lena, get somewhere safe, I need to go and report what just happened to anyone who will listen,” she said.

“I'm staying put, I know the building and staff so can help with the evacuation,” Lena said. It was typical of her. Kara was angry at herself for doubting, even if only for a moment, that Lena only cared about her business.

“It's too dangerous, who knows how much damage Sam could do?” Kara said.

“I'm willing to take that risk,” Lena said.

“I won't just leave you here,” Kara said.

“You've got to get this out to the public as soon as possible. This whole area is unsafe and everyone needs to know,” Lena said. Kara was conflicted, Lena was not listening to her and despite their recent issues she could not bear the thought of her getting hurt. Though the longer she spent trying to convince her, the longer Sam had to take Prometheus down. The comments Prometheus had made in his video and Kara’s own recent accusations likely meant Lena would double down on this effort no matter what she said to convince her otherwise.

“Stay safe...” Kara said. “And if you get hurt I'll...”

“I won't,” Lena said. “And Kara.”

Yes?”

“Thank you.” Kara nodded and reluctantly ran down the city streets, dim street lights guided her way as she ducked down an alley. She let her hair down, made the change to Supergirl and wasted no time in flying to L-Corp’s top floor.

The office was in ruins. Prometheus’ armour was cracked and singed all over, but to her surprise he was still duking it out with Sam. He seemed to be weaving around her, constantly moving but staying close enough to strike if Sam tried anything. He did however also seem to be slowing down and would not be able to take much more of what Sam could throw at him.

“Why don't you pick on someone your own size,” Kara said, hovering slowly toward them.

Sam stopped and turned to her, Prometheus stopped moving but kept his guard up.

“I'd say he's quite a lot taller than me actually,” Sam said. The lack of an immediate attack was promising.

“You have to stop,” Kara said.

“Why? I thought you'd be here to help,” Sam said.

“Help? You've murdered dozens of people,” Kara said.

“Dozens of criminals, criminals like our friend here,” Sam said. Prometheus said nothing, his visible eye just flitted between the two of them. He seemed ready to fight them both if he had to.

“I'm not going to let you kill anyone else,” Kara said.

“Would you be saying that if he was a Daxamite,” Sam said, chuckling.

“You don't know me at all,” Kara said, snarling under her breath and clenching her fists tightly. Sam's face dropped slightly at Kara's more aggressive stance.

“And here I thought we were going to get along. Oh well, I'll just destroy you with the rest of them,” Sam said, advancing toward her.

“You don't want to do this, Sam,” Kara said. Sam's eyes narrowed.

“Sam is weak. It was her fear that brought me out, her anxieties over the new city, the new job and of course fear for her own life. Now she's gone and I will not rest until this world's corruption is stamped out, until they all fall in line and submit.” She pounded the symbol on her chest “I am Reign and I shall let none stand in the way of a better world.” The moment she finished her sentence she flew at Kara. Both fists drove into her stomach and launched her back. The breath flew out of her lungs as the impact sent her careening backward. She was able to re-balance but was still winded and the ache in her stomach was immense. She had never been hit that hard before and was left reeling, not even Kal's punches had had that much power behind them. Reign quickly came at her again. Kara managed to dodge to the side. Even though she had missed, the force behind Reign’s fist had thrown her slightly. The sudden acceleration combined with the stomach pain made her feel sick. She tried to take deep breaths to settle herself.

Reign was coming around for another pass, refusing to let her recover. Despite this, she soldiered through the pain and prepared herself. At the last possible moment, Kara dropped down and landed a vicious uppercut to Reign's chin, sending her flipping uncontrollably into the sky. It was a good strike, though she instinctually hunched over as stretching out let out a sharp pain in her mid-section. Reign seemed dazed, Kara knew it was her turn to go on the offensive. Doing her best to ignore the relentless aching, she flew at her and started throwing more punches, working the body and throwing in quick jabs to the face. Reign did a poor job of blocking at first, but after the initial flurries she found her composure. Kara's swings were making less of an impact as she threw more at her. She could see the growing confidence in her opponent's face as each successive punch felt like it was hitting a harder and harder surface.

With a grin, Reign shifted and caught one of Kara's fists, she pushed her away and followed up with a blast of heat vision. Kara narrowly avoided the vicous red glow lighting up the darkened sky. Reign fired again, keeping the beam going this time. She flew high, keeping the sweeping beam skyward to protect the city. Her speed was starting to fail her as the growing pain and tiredness were setting in hard. She could feel the burn getting closer to her foot. It was hotter than the even the raging fire of Prometheus’ attack. The inevitable happened and the beam caught up to her, the pain jolted her, giving her the slight adrenaline rush she needed to pull away from it. The physical and mental strain from the fires and from Oa were taking their toll. This pace would be impossible to keep up for much longer. To win this, she would have to strike hard and fast.

She flew around to face her target. She blasted her own heat vision to meet with Reign's. The intensity of the beams were reaching breaking point as they hissed at each other though Kara’s continued to advance downward. Fighting through the pressure of the clashing beam’s heat and power was hard to bear. The world around her started to dull as she locked in fully on her target. When she finally got within range to punch Reign, she landed a heavy hit to the temple. It threw Reign’s head to the side and Kara's beam grazed her ear. Kara lifted her fists over her head and brought them down with all her might, sending Reign plummeting to the ground. Falling with significant speed, she crashed hard into the road near the L-Corp building.

Kara flew down beside the small crater Reign had caused with her crash-landing. The road had been totally wrecked by Reign's fall and several car alarms had been triggered by the force of it. Kara saw Alex and Lena amongst a small crowd of people that had gathered to investigate the commotion caused by Reign's crash. Kara approached the crater, Reign was down with her eyes closed. She turned to her sister who gave her a slight grin, she grinned back before doubling over. She was out of breath and stopping had made it a lot harder to ignore the stress her body was going through.

Gasping onlookers told her something was up. This moment of victory was short-lived as Reign emerged from the crater, shaking the rubble off herself and hovering above the ground once more. Reign rubbed her singed ear.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Reign said. Kara struggled to stand up straight, she was in no condition to keep fighting. The exhaustion, sharp pain just about everywhere and burnt foot felt like they were dragging her down. Nevertheless, she tried to prepare to face her opponent once more. In the blink of an eye, Reign was upon her. Kara failed to react in time as another punch planted itself in her stomach. As she lurched forward Reign grabbed her and punched her in the face repeatedly. Even with the blows hitting like a hammer, a dazed Kara just about managed to push Reign off. It was slow and clumsy, but it gave her some distance.

Her stance waivered as dizziness set in. She started to fall, only managing to catch herself by putting a hand on the ground. As she painstakingly got up again, she heard a laugh. Through blurred vision she spotted another beam coming her way. Panic set in as she knew there were people behind her. All she could do was try to ride out the full force of it. The beams drilled square into her chest. She tried to stand firm, but the world was still rocking from side to side, she could barely see and the unending heat was searing her skin. She tried to dig in her heels, but there was only so much she could take. Standing up straight without the crushing force of Reign’s onslaught would have been hard enough. She yelled out in pain and her stance buckled. It was only a slight lean to the side to offset some of the pressure, but it was more than enough to drive into her shoulder and lurch it back. It spun her round and she fell face first into the fractured road. There was a scream from the crowd, it was from an all too familiar source.

Kara saw the shock and terror on her sister's face. Alex fell to her knees and was looking down at the ground, where her arms had been parted from her body.

Kara forced herself up, letting the pain drive her instead of holding her back. Growling, grinding her teeth and now wanting nothing more than to end Reign. Nothing else mattered, she did not even wait for the dizziness to pass or any strength to return. She recklessly flew at Reign, wanting nothing more than to attack her with everything she had. Reign caught her by the neck, stopping her dead. Despite Kara's efforts to free herself, Reign was too strong. Kara struggled to breathe as Reign squeezed on her throat. She tried to swing at her but there was too little strength left in her arms. Reign smiled, not even bothering to block and letting Kara’s weak punches bounce off her face. She slammed her into the ground hard enough to create more cracks in the concrete.

“This is only the beginning,” Reign said, as she picked Kara up by the cape, presenting her as a trophy to the petrified onlookers. Kara dangled down, the world was spinning and she barely conscious enough to register her surroundings. Reign then started swinging her around, as speed picked up Kara began to feel increasingly sick. The world became a blur when Reign let go. She sailed through the air with no control whatsoever. She lost count of the number of walls she crashed through and eventually came to a halt, landing head-first on the top of one of National City's many skyscrapers.

She shifted round to lie on her back, she was at the end of a swathe of damage done to the roof she had ended up on. Her breath was laboured, blood was streaming down her face and she could taste more of it in her mouth. There was nothing but ringing in her ears, her vision was darkening and still blurred. She closed her eyes for an attempt at respite, but all she could picture was Alex's face at the sight of her lost arms. She tried to move, to will herself back to the fray. She had to make Reign pay for what she had done, but she simply could not. Her body had been through too much. Only rage at Reign and her own failure kept her hanging on to the edge of consciousness. Just as it felt like she was about slip away, she felt a presence.

She opened her eyes and a glow dominated her vision, it was a beacon amongst the blurred background. She saw a similar symbol to Hal's, it was a power ring. It almost seemed to be scratching at her mind, willing her to take it. She could feel in her blood it was what she needed to turn the tide. To give Reign what she deserved and to avenge Alex. Something to undo all the injustices not only caused by Reign, but on the city as a whole. Using the last of her strength she reached out, feeling almost instinctively what she could do with it. The ring moved itself toward her outstretched finger, slowly placing itself on it.

A red glow engulfed her and she started to feel rejuvenated instantly. Heavy beating of her heart drummed aggressively in her ears and an immense feeling of power coursed through her veins.

For the first time in what felt like years, everything felt right. Even after Rhea's invasion, Mon-El’s sacrifice, Cat's disgrace, Lena's distance, Kal's betrayal, the Guardians' trial, the image of the dismembered arms of the sister she failed to protect. All at the hands of enemies that were a true struggle to bring down. The hurt she had suffered from the trials and tribulations felt like they were washing away. She had been pushing it below the surface all this time and ignoring it, but now she knew her rage would be her salvation.

She shot up in the sky, all her senses returned to her. Her first thought was to go back to Reign and finish the fight. However, she felt the ring's power was seeping into every fibre of her being. She looked at the Red power-ring as it began to glow even more brightly. The injuries from the fight had all but vanished. Though a new feeling of pain overwhelmed her, she felt an intense burning, much worse than even Reign’s assault. It was like her blood itself was boiling. She started screaming out, but soon the screaming turned to roaring as her mind was filled with thoughts of destruction and death. The urge to fight Reign became a need to tear her limb from limb. The beating of her heart became even more prominent in her ears, booming away as she felt an overwhelming urge to crush, burn and kill everything around her. Her conscious mind got in one final thought before these uncontrollable urges took her over completely.

“Get out of here. Now.”


	11. Struggle

She had frozen, watching Supergirl get hit by those beams seemed to shut her brain down. Now she was on the floor, propping herself up with her elbows.

She had come across Kara's sister who came in to command the situation, Lena had pushed her hard to focus on the civilians. Even when Superman and the Martian Manhunter appeared she insisted to Alex they should clear everyone out of harm's way first. In her mind Supergirl was invincible and could easily handle herself for a few minutes unassisted. It was only now she saw how wrong she had been.

The woman who had just saved her life by pushing her away from the cross-fire was on her knees in front of her. It was hard to look at and the smell of burnt flesh made her gag. She shielded her eyes and looked away, only to then witness Supergirl being defeated and tossed away with ease.

She refused to be helpless in this situation and forced herself to come to her senses. As a Luthor, doubt was not something she could abide.

She ignored the threat Sam posed and focused on the one thing that mattered right now, Alex Danvers. She crawled over to her.

“Alex? Alex?” she said. Alex did not react, she was still staring down at where her arms once were. Lena gently touched her cheek and moved her eye-line upward for her.

“Hey, stay with me,” Lena said. Alex gave a slight nod despite being almost completely out of it. She did what she could to lay her down in the recovery position and looked over to the L-Corp building. Lex had once ranted at her extensively about what Kryptonians were capable of. It had been a dull experience, though she remembered the list included super-hearing.

“Superman, I need your help,” she said. In a matter of seconds, the Man of Steel erupted from the L-Corp building.

“Miss. Luthor...” he stopped when he saw Alex's condition, he then looked over to Sam who was basking in the chaos of the frightened crowds around her.

“She needs immediate attention, I'll get her somewhere safe quickly. As for the Kryptonian, I'll get Martian Manhunter and Supergirl to keep her occupied until the area is clear of civilians,” he said, starting to look around. Presumably he was trying to see where Supergirl was.

“That plan won't work,” Lena said, she had to force the next sentence out of her mouth. “Supergirl is down, she was beaten and thrown away. That Kryptonian is too dangerous to take on alone, without Supergirl's assistance the Martian Manhunter won't last long.” Superman's shoulders slumped as he looked down at Alex.

“I'll face her then, Martian Manhunter will take care of Alex,” he said.

“She can't be taken on alone,” Lena repeated.

“Any delay could fatal,” he said. Lena's mind whirred, Superman's plan was noble, but foolish.

“No, you get her and anyone else out of here first. Have the Martian Manhunter check on Supergirl, she must be in a very bad way after what happened to her,” Lena said, pointing out a hole in a nearby building. “That was where she was thrown through, he can follow the trajectory to her.” It was hard to talk about Supergirl needing to be saved, however she gave off the illusion of composure to keep command of the situation at hand.

“I agree that's our first priority, but what about the Kryptonian?” Superman said.

“I know her, I'll talk to her and keep her distracted to give you and Manhunter the time you need. Once you're done you can take her on together,” Lena said.

Superman slowly looked down at Alex, then to Sam and then to Lena. He looked at her, piecing together what she had said.

“We'll work as fast as we can. If things take a turn, get out of there,” he said, giving her a nod of acknowledgement before picking up Alex and her severed arms. Then in a blink, he was gone. Lena turned to Sam, who was in a trance-like state. The crowds around her had all gotten away. Despite this being her own plan and knowing how dangerous it was going in, it did not make the prospect of facing down an unstable Kryptonian any less terrifying. Getting out of there, as Superman suggested, would be next to impossible if Sam turned violent. She straightened out her clothes and dusted herself off as she cautiously made her way over. The usual vibrance of the city had turned to panic, she drowned out the chaos by focusing on the sounds of her footsteps. They echoed along the lifeless street as she strode ever closer, weaving through the cracks in the road. Sam was hovering a few feet in the air, totally still. She looked particularly ominous in the low light, her face obscured above the streetlamps level. Lena was the only one who remained, she was alone with her.

“Sam?” Lena said. Her attention snapped to her in an instant.

“Sam is gone,” she said. Lena watched her float down to ground-level, the skull symbol on her chest was now in clear view. She maintained enough confidence to stop any nervousness showing.

“Alright. Who am I talking with?” Lena said.

“Reign,” she said.

“Well I'm afraid I only really know Sam.” Reign scoffed, Lena was speaking slowly and pausing between each sentence. Along with buying time, she was also thinking out her words carefully. If Reign chose to kill her there would be absolutely nothing she could do to stop it. The best she could think of was to try and appeal to whatever conscience she had left. Sam, the woman who seemed so driven and strong in her interviews and work, had to be in there somewhere.

“Well the woman I knew would be horrified at the destruction and violence around her,” Lena said.

“This planet is chaos, humanity’s anger and selfishness is palpable. No-one was willing to be a strong enough hand to keep them in line, so I will be that hand. Sam doesn't understand what has to be done, neither did Supergirl,” Reign said, she walked right up to Lena. Her face was close, she could feel Reign's icy breath on her skin. A twinge of fear shivered down Lena's spine.

“And neither do you,” Reign said. Lena stepped back at put her hands on her hips.

“I've known a lot of people who thought like that, there was a time where I may have even agreed. I’ve learnt that caring is far stronger than violence, and what I also know is that the path of destruction never ends well for people who carelessly choose to follow it, the ends do not always justify the means,” Lena said, Reign threw her head back and laughed.

“Is that a threat?” Reign said. Lena's mind was frantic, her heart was racing and she became acutely aware of everything around her. That smell of burnt flesh still lingered in her nostrils and it took all her willpower to prevent her hands from shaking as this monster stared her down. However, all she showed to Reign was a disinterested frown.

“No. just an observation,” she said, meeting Reign's gaze.

“You don't understand the true meaning of order. If you were willing to do what was necessary people like Prometheus would never come forward in the first place. There would be no-one to challenge the peace I would bring,” Reign said, Lena laughed slightly.

“They'll always be people willing to fight, the harder you come down on them the more that will be willing to take up arms against you,” she said. Reign's eyes began to glow.

“I take it you're one of those people, Miss Luthor” she said. Lena knew at that moment she had made a mistake. She had had no sense of time with this entire encounter and no idea what progress Superman and the Manhunter had made. Reign was possibly seconds away from killing her. There was one gambit she had thought of earlier, one she did not want to play until later, if at all. Sam had not gone into much detail about it and she hoped to whatever deity was listening that she remembered the name correctly. Reign began to rise, looming over her ominously as the deathly red glow in her eyes lit up the darkness. Lena did not flinch and spoke as calmly as she could manage.

“What would Ruby have to say about all this?” The glow in her eyes disappeared, Lena felt a wave of relief as Reign gently floated back to the ground and looked away.

“No, what I am doing is right,” Reign said, her tone was unconvincing, almost as if she were to saying it to herself rather than to Lena.

“Come back to me, Sam,” Lena said. Reign was still, only her eyes flitted back and forth. Lena could see the inner-conflict, she was willing Sam on and hoping she could beat Reign back somehow. As the moments went by Lena felt she could only stand and watch, worrying any further interference would make things worse. Reign stamped her foot down, startling Lena and crushing the tarmac beneath her feet effortlessly.

“No,” Reign shouted, grabbing Lena's neck and lifting her off the ground.

“She will not break me,” Reign said, her breathing was short and sharp, Sam had been staring at the ground, but lifted her head and glared right at Lena. She had done everything she could think of. Her feet were dangled down as Reign held her aloft. She could not hide her fear any longer, but she had no intention of begging for mercy. She simply held eye contact as she felt the pressure on her neck slowly increase. Reign seemed stuck in her own head, trying and failing to will herself to close her hand and be done with it. A tear streaked down Lena’s face, she held no illusions that this could be it. Her mind was drawing blank, even then anything she would have thought to say would be impossible through her closing windpipe. The minute amount of air she could gasp through was nowhere near enough. Her vision began to darken as breathing became too difficult, only the view of Reign’s sneering expression was clear. She regretted how she did not notice the nature of Sam's struggle and failed to help her. Though the main regret dominating her mind was how badly she had left things with Kara and how she had treated her recently.

Reign stopped staring her down and held her to the side, Lena’s body flailed like a ragdoll at the sudden shift. Reign was able to throw her weight around like it was nothing. When she got a semblance of her senses, Lena strained her neck fighting through the grip to look at what had distracted her. Superman and the Martian Manhunter landed side by side on the opposite end of the street. Lena began kicking at her and grabbing at her hand with in a last desperate attempt loosen the grip whilst her attention was elsewhere, it was to no avail. Her eyes began to roll back as her inability to breath and the crushing pressure in her head sent her into a hysteria.

There was a brief exchange between them all, it was all muffled to her as she hung on to the edge of consciousness.

Reign then turned to her and inspected her flailing victim. After Reign went through whatever calculation she did in her head, she tossed Lena aside and launched herself at the new threats.

Lena desperately gasped in air and did scrambled away to find some cover, coughing and spluttering as she ran. She went down an alley and around a corner, leaning her back up against the wall. She let her back slide down it until she was sitting, letting all the emotions she was hiding from Reign come out. She wiped a few tears from her eyes and curled herself up into a ball. She had been through a lot in her time but never had such a direct confrontation with her own mortality. She gratefully gasped in air as quickly as she could. Almost allowing herself to be totally overwhelmed, she began hyperventilating.

“You can breath.” She repeated it to herself quietly over and over, slowly it helped her to recover. The tears and the sniffing stopped as her rational mind began to return. As much she wanted too, she knew she had no time to wallow. There were things to do, people to look after. She took one last deep breath and stood up. She peaked around the corner, Martian Manhunter and Superman were working well in tandem. His speed and strength combining with Manhunter's incredible shape-shifting and phasing abilities. Reign then came into her full view again, Lena rubbed the front of her neck and once more started hyperventilating. She felt she had no control over herself and could not look away from her. The rest of the world seemed to go silent and black around her as Lena entered a panicked state. Reign then launched herself into the air, her eyes followed her upward until she was nothing but a speck on the horizon. The other two had followed her, leaving Lena as the only person in the quiet street.

She repeated the words “you can breath.” Only gaining any semblance of control over herself after doing so. As she calmed down and went for her phone and arranged for her driver to pick her up a few streets away. She told herself it was because the area still might be dangerous, in her heart she knew she just wanted a quiet walk in the fresh air to help ease her mind and throbbing head. She made her way to the pickup point she had set, doing her best to make her strides grow in confidence as she walked through the dim and empty city.


	12. Admin

It had taken a number of hours to account for every employee that had stayed at L-corp that night. Apart from a few bumps and scratches, the efforts of the D.E.O. and Superman had been successful. Even her assistant who had all but vanished after Prometheus' arrival had called in safe, although in the chaos it seemed Prometheus himself had managed to slip away. The time she had spent checking through lists and liaising with her staff to make sure of everyone's safety had provided a distraction to her recent ordeal. Whilst it still scratched at the back of her mind, she had recovered enough to be able to lean on Winn Schott to get her access to the D.E.O. headquarters.

She was being led through by Winn, who had half-heartedly warned her not to let her eyes wander or take anything from the building. She saw Alex lying upright in a medical bay surrounded by glass walls, she was talking to her doctor. Lena waited outside and watched, Alex's body language seemed more impatient than anything else. She was surprised at how lively Alex seemed when a mere few hours ago she had been hurt so severely. Lena caught the doctor as he left, the door slowly swung shut behind him.

“May I speak to her?” Lena said.

“Whilst she might insist she's fine, she needs rest,” he said.

“I just want to thank her for saving my life,” she said. The doctor looked to Winn, who gave him a thumbs up.

“Just be quick,” he said. She stepped in, Winn followed. Alex's discontented expression softened.

“Are you alright, Miss Luthor?” she asked. Lena was taken aback.

“You’re asking me if I’m alright?” Lena said.

“Your neck has some pretty nasty bruising,” she said, Lena rubbed her neck. She had not even considered any marks that might have been left. She tried to block out the recent memories and wanted to change the subject.

“Don’t worry about that. And I think you've more than earned the right to call me Lena,” she said. Looking at the bandages where her arms once were was hard to stomach, this was her fault. “I feel awful about what's happened to you and I insisted on coming here to thank you personally,” Lena said. Alex gave her a reassuring smile.

“I don't regret what I did,” she said.

“You've been badly hurt because I just froze,” Lena said.

“I may have been out of it, but I was aware enough to know you pulled yourself together damn fast and put yourself on the line not only to get me out of there safely, but also get everyone else clear. I'd say that makes us even,” Alex said, Lena looked at the ground. The comments did little to salve her guilt.

“Of course, that’s probably the copious number of painkillers in my system doing the talking,” Alex said. Lena was not sure whether this was a joke or if Alex was just being honest. There was certainly something that seemed to keep her steady, somehow even calmer than her about what had happened. Add to that a strength of will she saw so often out of Kara and it started to make a little sense to her.

At that moment Lena pulled out her phone, she had been through so much but was hesitant to call Kara. She wanted to confide in her and tell her about her experience with Reign, the recent rift between them had given her pause at the time. Now she was here with Alex this condition she had no choice.

“What are you doing?” Winn asked.

“Calling Kara, I assume she doesn’t know what happened here?” Lena said.

“No, don't do that,” Winn said, blurting the words out. Lena looked up from her phone and raised an eyebrow.

“Why not?” Lena asked. Winn gave Alex a nervous look.

“What my associate means to say is that my sister has actually already been and gone,” Alex said.

“Right,” Lena said, it did not seem like Kara to leave the side of someone she loved in a time of need.

“She kicked up a real stink when she was asked to leave, but I insisted to her I'm fine and she couldn't stay in this headquarters for security reasons,” Alex said.

“And she accepted that?” Lena said.

“Of course not, so I told her the best way to help me was to find out more about who did this to me. So, it's probably best not to interrupt her right now and whilst it’s a bit morbid, it's at least finally given her some motivation,” Alex said. Lena turned to Winn who gave her an unconvincing smile. The story seemed off, but she was not about to question the woman who sacrificed life and limb for her. After a long silence Lena spoke up.

“Are you seriously okay? I feel like I can never thank you enough.”

“I’m trying not to think about it, but I am the adaptable sort,” Alex said. Lena was getting increasingly worried that Alex was just putting on a brave face to ease her guilt. Something about her mood seemed artificial, but it was not sadness she detected behind the facade. There was an absence in her gaze, like a lot was weighing on her mind.

“Is there nothing that can be done?” Lena asked.

“Apparently those Kryptonian lasers do a real number on you. I won't bore you with the medical side but the word “inoperable” is used a lot,” Alex said. Lena felt another itch at her neck as an image of Reign's glowing eyes flashed in her mind. She let it pass and looked down at her feet. The woman in front of her had done nothing to deserve such a fate. Lena whipped out a business card and placed it on the table beside Alex's bed.

“That has my personal number and e-mail on it. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you let me know,” Lena said.

“A new pair of arms would be nice,” Alex said, she seemed to catch herself when Lena gave her a distraught look. “Sorry, it was a joke.” Lena’s guilt subsided as a thought process got in motion.

“Well thank you again, sincerely. But you need rest and there’s still a lot I need to do,” she said, making a move for the door. “And I meant it, anything at all, you can call me.”

“Thank you, Goodbye Lena,” Alex smiled at her as she left, Winn followed her out. Once clear of the door she turned to him, she spotted Alex's face drop to a look of deep thought.

“Superman brought Alex's arms with him when he took her here. Can I have them?” Lena said.

“I don't think I can swing that one,” Winn said with an extremely concerned look on his face.

“That's fair,” Lena said, pausing to think. “Just get detailed scans and medical data to me.” She handed him a card.

“What's the data for?” he asked.

“Trust me,” she said.

“Okay then,” Winn said, looking at her like she was insane, she concluded this was a fair reaction.

He saw her out of the building, Lena told her driver to bring her back to L-Corp, not knowing how long she would be there, she let him go home for the night. The building was empty save for a few late security workers. The area had been declared safe again shortly after Reign had retreated from Superman and Martian Manhunter. She went up to her office and was promptly reminded what had happened when she saw it was still a total wreck from Prometheus' and Reign's fight. Thinking back to it darkened her vision slightly and she felt a shortness of breath. She stumbled, only just catching herself on the wall. She shook off the feeling and switched on the light. Miraculously, she found her laptop had survived the ordeal. She brushed off some remains of her shattered desk that were strewn across it. Without her own desk to work with she took a brief look for any kind of flat surface in her office. When she failed and got bored of searching, she wandered out to her assistant’s desk. She looked out at the stars as the laptop whirred to life. Once logged in she started putting together the data she needed and sifted through the details of who she would likely need to get a hold of. She let out a long yawn whilst some schematics started loading up, it was taking a while so she put her head on the desk and closed her eyes for a moment.

“Erm... Miss Luthor?” The voice startled her, she looked up, her eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the sunlight that was mercilessly blaring at her through the windows.

“Sorry to wake you.” Bewildered, she checked the time to find it was now morning. It was not the first time she had fallen asleep whilst working and yesterday's events had taken a toll on her, once the adrenaline fully wore off, she must have gone out like a light.

“No, no, no, I'm sorry,” Lena said, she was flustered and had a terrible crick in her neck. Her old desk was a better pillow than her assistant's. She jumped out of the chair and rushed to her office, only to rediscover the state it was in.

“Oh right, yeah,” she said to herself.

“Don't worry Miss Luthor, I've already got a clean-up crew on the way and a new desk being sent up,” her assistant said.

“You're the best,” Lena said, grateful for how gracious her assistant was being.

“It's no sweat, Miss Luthor, I'm just glad you're okay,” she said.

“I could say the same thing about you, I assumed the worst when I didn't see you outside office my last night,” Lena said. Her assistant gave her a distracted nod. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes I’m fine. It was all quite strange actually, after Prometheus broke my intercom he just warned me things might get a bit hectic and said it was probably best I leave,” she said.

“Is that the wording he used?” Lena asked.

“Not far from it. He almost seemed gentle... well as gentle as a large, fully armoured lunatic could come across anyway,” she said. Lena thought to herself for a moment, Prometheus got more fascinating by the minute. When danger presented itself he leaped in and told her to run and now her assistant was calling him gentle.

“Do you know if anyone else came into contact with him last night?” Lena asked.

“Just the security team I imagine. I'll see if anyone from last night has checked in this morning,” she picked up a tablet from her desk and started tapping away. “Yes, there is one.”

“Bring them up, I want a word,” Lena said. She wanted to learn more about her latest adversary. Kara’s insistence on getting information from her had felt unfair at the time, though with what she had been through and Alex being hurt she wanted something to give her something as way of an apology.

“Right away,” she said. Lena thanked her and walked into her office. She inspected the damage more closely, the place was a maze of splintered furniture and scattered office supplies. As she scanned the room, something far more interesting caught her eye. There were pieces of Prometheus' shattered armour plating across the floor. She bent down and gathered as many pieces as she could, as well as picking up her favourite stapler. She placed the armour pieces on one of the few intact shelves. Her assistant popped her head in as she started looking more closely findings.

“He's here,” she said.

“Send him in,” Lena said. An average looking man in a uniform sheepishly walked in.

“Erm, Miss Luthor... I mean Ma'am...erm,” he trailed off.

“I'd offer you a seat,” Lena looked around her office again, “but it appears my sofa and chairs were victims of last night's attack.”

“I'm so sorry Miss... Ma'am, it won't happen again,” he said. Lena furrowed her brow before it dawned on her that it was far from normal for this man to end up face to face with the C.E.O.

“Don't worry you're not in trouble...” she paused for his name, he was slow to catch on.

“Oh, right yes, Hibbert... I mean Frank. Frank Hibbert,” he said.

“Well, Frank Hibbert. I just want to know a bit more about the man that attacked last night,” she said.

“You mean Prometheus?” he said.

“That's the one,” she said. Frank looked up slightly, recalling the events of what he went through.

“Well me and a few of the boys were called up to the roof when there was an unscheduled helicopter landing,” his speech was stuttering and hurried. Lena put her hand out.

“Take a breath, Frank,” she said, looking down to where her mini-fridge once was. It was no longer in its place, in the scuffle last night it had made its way to the balcony. However, some of the water bottles it previously held were lying about. She picked one up and manoeuvred through the debris to hand it to him.

“It might be a little warm,” she said. Frank seemed to loosen up more as he took some sips.

“Thank you,” he said, he then stood there silently with a blank expression.

“So… the unscheduled landing,” Lena said.

“Right, yes” some of the water sloshed out of the top as he carried on. “Well we go to the helipad and out walks Prometheus. We tell him to stop, he doesn't. We tell him to stop or we'd be forced to use... erm, well, force... so he just walks right up to Ozzie,” he said.

“Ozzie?” Lena said.

“He's another guard, his shift doesn't kick in 'til later. Anyway, Prometheus says to Ozzie, who has his hand on his baton, that he should take a swing at him. We were all confused for a second, he challenges Ozzie again, so Ozzie gives him a whack.” Frank took another sip of water.

“Ozzie's baton just broke, he’s a strong guy but it didn't even dent the armour. Ozzie then says we still couldn't let him through so Prometheus then just picks him up and slowly plonked him out of his way. He then says it's not a fight we could win and walks on by. We all just kind of looked of each other. We were lost on what to do so we radioed it in so someone with more authority could do something about it.” Lena folded one arm across her body and rested her head in her other hand, she was still feeling a bit groggy.

“Interesting,” she said.

“I'm sorry we didn't do more,” he said.

“Don't be silly, Frank. I saw this man go toe to toe with...” her speech slowed down, the itching on her neck returned and she became lost in her thoughts.

“Miss.Luthor? Erm... Ma'am?” Frank said. She snapped back into the room.

“You and your team did the right thing, Frank. Throwing yourself at someone like that would only have ended badly for you. Don’t be afraid to ask for some time off if you need it,” she said.

“No need, I’ll be alright Ma’am,” Frank gave a slight salute, then looked at his hand with a confused expression.

“I don’t know why I did that,” he said, then promptly scurried out. His nervousness had been quite endearing, she chuckled to herself.

She did not know what to make of these stories. At every turn Prometheus had done what he could to avoid hurting anyone, yet he was willing to resort to such extreme methods to bring her down. Before she could give it further thought, a couple of men with a new desk arrived. She helped clear an area of the floor and watched as a rudimentary work-station was set up. It was nowhere near as nice as what she was used to, but she at least now had a proper work phone at her disposal as well as somewhere to put her laptop. Once she had moved her favourite stapler to pride of place on the desk, she opened the laptop back up.

Her work before she dozed off was still loaded. It was a few project files and the credentials of one Doctor Tammy Dyer. She then checked her email, Winn had come through and sent her the data on Alex's arms. She hoped Winn had asked Alex first otherwise this was a very unethical email to receive. She dismissed this thought and instinctively pawed at where her intercom once was. When she pressed down all she heard was the click of her favourite stapler. She sighed and poked her head out of the office.

“Can you get a hold of Tammy Dyer for me please, she's an L-Corp research division head,” Lena said.

“Right away, Miss Luthor,” her assistant said. She sat back down and waited for the phone to ring, grabbing her stapler and chucking the wasted staple amongst the other wreckage in her once pristine office. The phone rang almost immediately, Lena made a note to give her assistant a hefty bonus when her next review came around. It was the least she could do for her loyalty and efficiency.

“Hello, Miss Luthor, you wanted to talk?” Tammy said, she had a high-pitched voice that was grating on the ear.

“Yes I did. There's something I want to check,” Lena said.

“Our next progress report isn't due for another week,” she said.

“I know, I guess this is more of a personal request,” Lena said.

“How can I help?” she said. The replacement phone was quite old fashioned, probably the best they could muster from supplies at such short notice. She enjoyed the novelty of a phone cord and played with it whilst she brought up the schematics she had found in the previous research reports.

“I was looking at the artificial limb designs...” Lena said.

“A marvel of bio-engineering if I do say so myself. Just got out of testing phase, a rousing success,” she said.

“That's good to hear...” Lena said. Tammy cut her off again.

“Not even remotely affordable for the public though, we won't be able to dish them out or sell them until we find a way to produce them cheaply.”

“I understand that, but could you make a one pair of arms from medical data sent to you,” Lena said.

“In theory, but the parts and process are extremely expensive. I don't have the budget for it,” she said. Lena rolled her eyes, it was always like this when dealing with research heads.

“I'm sending data through to you now, I want you to make these arms,” Lena said, fiddling with her laptop. Tammy sucked the air in through her teeth, it was the standard sign of hesitance for someone in her position.

“Put it on your budget report as an extra expense and I'll waive it next quarter,” Lena said.

“Interesting,” Tammy said, her hesitance vanished immediately as she started going through the data on her end. “This will help our project immensely. Always good to have more samples.” Tammy was getting lost in her work as she continued to explain some of the intricacies of the process. Lena started counting how many pieces her sofa had ended up in whilst Tammy yammered away, she got to twenty-three before there was a lull in Tammy's ramblings, Lena cleared her throat and finally managed to get a word in.

“How long will they take to put together?” Lena asked.

“Without a budget constraint it shouldn’t take long at all. The subject would have to come in for a day to attune them to her body. The nature of the injury will also complicate things, but with some adjustments the technology should still work,” Tammy said. It was always funny how parts and resources were magically immediately available when she offered budget incentives, it was the nature of the work.

“I'll make the arrangements, thank you Doctor,” Lena said. She put the phone down, pleased with how smoothly that went. Most division heads would usually try and talk her ear off or grovel for an hour, she managed to reduce that time significantly.

She picked up her stapler and span it around whilst she contemplated her next move. Her wrecked office brought Reign to mind but she forced herself away from thinking about her.

“You can breath,” she muttered to herself. In addition to wanting to avoid thinking about what had happened, Kara was on the warpath for Reign and getting in her way might make things worse between them. She put down the stapler and decided it would be Prometheus she would turn her attention to. Afterall, he was quite the intriguing figure. Her curiosity was piqued by his apparent nobility, she also wanted to do what she could for Kara that did not involve Reign. She winced as she rubbed her bruised neck, quickly reaching for the phone again.


	13. Reassurance

After a few more phone calls and quickly sorting some of the more pressing L-Corp matters, Lena realised she had two major problems on her hands. One of which was where to start with the Prometheus investigation. Analysing the armour shards would take time and was unlikely to give her anything useful without any other information to tie it down too. The helicopter he had arrived in turned out to be a stolen from a hiring firm, he had flown to L-Corp straight after stealing it so there was no trail to follow there either. She had spoken with Winn again to arrange Alex’s visits to Dr.Dyer’s labs, whilst he was on the phone with him she brought up the subject of Prometheus. The D.E.O. had nothing concrete on him and he warned her that they were now focusing all their resources elsewhere, she assumed it was Reign that had their full attention now. The one lead he did manage to get proved fruitless when he tried to follow it, but she made a note of it anyway. After all was said and done regarding Prometheus, all she really had was the name of a bar. “The Cheshire.”

However, a more immediate problem had presented itself. A girl had come into the building asking to see her. In most circumstances this would be a relatively common occurrence. Some admired specific aspects of her work, some saw her as a role model and some simply asked her for fashion advice. She liked to treat this small number of fans who made the effort well and would let them leave a note for her that she could respond to personally. It offered a nice relief from some of the less interesting aspects of her job every now and then as well as reminding her that even with the infamous surname, hard work was recognised and appreciated. It was business as usual when she got the message of a girl asking for her, and this little procedure she had set up was followed. It was the name that stopped her in her tracks, a name that told her this was not just a fan looking for advice or inspiration. “Ruby Arias.” The name had rung in her ears and echoed around her head. Her initial thought was to turn her away, leave her at the ground floor and avoid this by any means possible. She knew in her heart that that was not a real option so as per her order, Ruby was on her way up.

She was desperately thinking of what she could do or say to reassure her but was drawing blank. All she could muster in the few minutes it took for Ruby to get to her office was taking a chair from outside and putting it in front of her desk. Lena took a swig of water and listened out. Before long the lift was opening and she heard her assistant’s voice.

“Hi there sweetie, if you can come through with me?”

The footsteps got closer, she waited for the inevitable. Ruby crossed the threshold of the office, she moved laboriously over to the free seat. The resemblance to her mother was striking, that darkened image of Reign with her hand around her neck flashed into her mind. It took everything she had to stay composed, the last thing she wanted was to make things any worse for this girl. Ruby took in the scene before her without saying a word, the destroyed office was yet to be cleared up fully. It was unnerving for Lena as she quietly panicked about what to tell this girl. Her mother had turned into some sort of monster and up to this point Sam had just been a co-worker. They had been friendly, but not at a level where Lena had any idea how to reassure her daughter. The only thing she could think to do was make the first move and let Ruby dictate how this went.

“Sorry… just doing some redecorating,” she said with a nervous laugh, Ruby barely responded.

“Are you alright, Ruby?” she asked. Still no response, Ruby continued looking around the room. Lena sat extremely still and resisted the urge to scratch at her neck. Ruby stopped looking and finally focused on her.

“Where’s my mum, she didn’t come home last night,” she said, there was a hint of an accusation in her voice.

“I… don’t know,” Lena said.

“I’ve watched the news, but no-one will tell me what’s going on. Not for real,” she said. Lena had tried to read some reports, she never managed to get far without her throat closing up. The D.E.O. had protected Sam’s identity at her request, though it was no doubt that Ruby recognised her own mother amongst the blurred pictures. Lena opened her mouth, failing to find the right words. Instead she took another sip of water, hoping the shuddering of her hand was slight enough to be unnoticeable.

“What they’re saying, it can’t be her,” Ruby said.

“I don’t think it was her, not truly,” Lena said.

“What does that mean?” Ruby said.

“When Sam... your mother, attacked like that. It was like she was possessed,” Lena said. She could feel her throat drying up and feared she had been too honest. Ruby seemed deflated.

“Is she going to be okay?” Ruby said. Lena knew she had to keep it together for this girl, she soldiered through the anxiety to the best of her ability.

“When I talked to her, she seemed lost to whatever Reign was,” she said. Ruby folded her arms down on the desk and buried her head in them.

Lena took a deep breath as some much-needed clarity of thought finally came to her. Kara was looking for Reign, she always found a way to get people through the worst of circumstances. She put a hand on Ruby’s shoulder.

“I know there’s a lot of uncertainty right now, but there’s someone I know that will stop at nothing to bring her back to you,” she said. Ruby poked her head out of her arms, her eyes were glistening.

“Is that true?” she asked.

“Yes, her name is Kara Danvers and she’s the most tenacious person I know,” Lena said.

“Who is she? Can she really do what you’re saying?” Ruby asked.

“A reporter, a friend,” Lena said, thinking back to all the times Kara had pulled through for her. That girl that would stop at nothing to help those in need. “And yes, I whole-heartedly believe in her.” She then got up and walked around to the other side of the desk, kneeling to Ruby’s eye-level.

“I also believe in your mother. Reign’s hold over her started to break when I mentioned your name. Be strong for her Ruby, it’s her love for you that will get her through this. It will be what saves her,” Lena said. The next thing she knew Ruby’s arms were wrapped around her. After the initial shock, Lena hugged back. The embrace calmed what remained of her nerves. After some time, Ruby pulled away. There was a bit more life to her now as her movement seemed less laboured and whilst still clearly worried, she looked slightly more contented than when she first entered the office.

“I can’t guarantee much excitement, but you can stay here with me if you like,” Lena said. Worried that this child’s only guardian was missing.

“I think my mum would want me to go back to school,” she said.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Lena said.

“No, I want to go, for her,” she said. Lena was about to suggest that diving straight back into work might be a bad idea, then realised that's exactly what she had done. Ruby started speaking again.

“If your friend finds out anything please…”

“I will,” Lena said, cutting her off.

“Thank you,” Ruby said, standing up.

“I’ll walk you out. If you like I could call in my driver to give you a lift to school.” Lena said.

“I’d like that,” Ruby said, she looked like she wanted to say more. Lena made the call and started walking out with Ruby. She told her assistant she may be back soon but not to wait up for her.

They were in the lift when she ended the call.

“Can you really just come and go as you please?” Ruby asked.

“Usually I never would, I practically live here. But I came here last night to sort out some things and fell asleep on my assistant’s desk,” she said. Ruby smiled.

“When did you wake up?” she asked.

“When my assistant needed her desk,” Lena said. Despite a laugh, Ruby’s r mood quickly faded and she looked down at the ground.

“Mum was tired a lot recently, I thought it was the job…” she said.

“You had no way of knowing. If anything, I should've seen something,” Lena said.

“Maybe, she always said you were a good boss when I blamed you,” she said, staring out at nothing.

“What you’re going through wouldn’t be easy for anyone,” Lena said, she was happy to take any blame if it made things easier for Ruby. Ruby nodded half-heartedly. The elevator music did what it could to alleviate the tension as they descended. They walked through the busy reception area, she could see the car waiting there through the large glass panes of the entrance and pointed to it.

“That’s your ride, just there. I can arrange for you to be picked up at the end of the day and sort out someone to look after you,” Lena said. Ruby looked up to her and then to the car. She looked reluctant.

“I have friends I can stay with,” she said. Lena did not want to question or push her more than she needed too, though she was not about to abandon a child. She made a mental note to find out which school and tell them her mother was ill and to make sure she was kept an eye on. Ruby was still hesitant to leave her side.

“It’ll be alright,” Lena said, she looked at her calmly and gave her as reassuring a smile as she could manage.

“Will… will you come with me?” Ruby asked. Lena was surprised by this request, she must have done a better job reassuring Ruby that she thought, or she simply did not want to be alone. Her discomfort regarding Reign was creeping back into her thoughts, but she refused to abandon Ruby. She rubbed her neck as she looked at the car.

“Of course,” she said. Ruby seemed impressed with the leg room as she stretched herself out in the seat. Ruby told the driver the name of her school and the engine revved loudly as a small gap in the traffic presented itself. She kept an eye on Ruby, who watched the city go by through the tinted window. Lena could see the bruising on her neck in the reflection of her window, in a way they were both victims of Reign. She wandered if Ruby had worked out what Reign had done to her. The news would be bad enough in inflating Reign’s violent nature, the last thing Ruby needed to hear was that Reign almost killed her as well. The sense of dread she felt and the darkened vision started to well up again. She leaned her head on the cold window, “you can breath,” she repeatedly muttered to herself quietly.

The journey was mostly uneventful, idle chatter about what Ruby was studying in school and what Lena did with her work days filled the time. The spectre of Reign hung over them as they spoke, she could sense the awkwardness in avoiding the topic. Despite this there seemed to be an unspoken understanding that bringing it up again would be too much for the both of them. That strength she found to reassure Ruby earlier had worn away and she just hoped she could hold on long enough for her. Even though she offered earlier, it was now evident staying with Ruby all day would have been impossible for her.

The skyscrapers of the main city blurred into the suburbs, it had not taken long to arrive at the school. They stood by the car, the low humdrum of a school day sounding off in the background.

“My mum’s a good person, isn’t she?” Ruby said.

“Of course she is,” Lena said. She had not hesitated, looking to quell Ruby's uncertainty. However, doubts of her own had started to creep in about how much of Sam was really left. Ruby nodded.

“Thank you for this,” Ruby said.

“It was the least I could do,” Lena said.

Ruby looked like she wanted to say more, instead she gave her another quick hug and walked to the school entrance. Lena watched her step inside. Once she was out of sight she got back in the car and exhaled loudly. She went over it all in her head, it seemed to have gone okay but she felt emotionally drained. She made a quick call to Winn again, clarifying Ruby’s situation. It had been long enough for Ruby to get back to class before stepping in the school herself, so she stepped into the school. The receptionist recognised her instantly and was confused as to why she was there. She bluffed her way through some meetings with staff as to Ruby’s situation, staying as vague as possible about Sam. Thanks to her talk with Winn, any calls they would make to verify the information of a sudden health scare would be intercepted by the D.E.O. and dealt with accordingly.

She asked her driver to take her home and looked back at the school one last time before the car pulled away.


	14. Dive

She had returned home, it was a rare occasion when she had an excuse to take a break and actually took it. A backdrop of soothing music echoed around the room. For the first time in a while, she sat down just to do nothing. It felt good to properly take the weight off her feet and try to let her mind slow down. A shower and change of clothes were in order, but not before staying there just a little bit longer. She kicked her shoes off, swung her feet round and lay across the sofa, sinking into the leather. The music washed over her and exhaustion felt like it was floating away, it was nice to have this time to herself. She hummed along to the music and imagined getting a massage, her mind wandered further to a full week in a spa.

The past few weeks had been hard enough with the CatCo takeover piling on top of her usual workload. Prometheus, Reign and Ruby being thrown into the mix made it all that much harder to manage. She lazily dropped her head and looked at her phone, she had carelessly thrown it face-down onto the table. At times like this she would usually message Kara, there was no-one else she felt like talking too about these sorts of days. She stretched her arm as far as she could to reach it, but it was no use. The sofa had engulfed her and she had no intention of moving the rest of her body.

She had never really studied the ceiling before, usually there was no reason to. This time something about it was strangely fascinating to her. It seemed like a giant blank canvas, she lifted her arm out and pretended to draw on it with her finger. The first thing she started drawing was the L-Corp logo, she stopped herself. The fact that that logo had popped into her head before anything else seemed worrying, she decided it was a mental thread she best not pull at. She wiped the logo from her imaginary canvas. Her favourite stapler sprung to mind but drawing that seemed even sadder. She flitted through pictures in her head and settled on a horse. The shape of its head formed in her mind as she wagged her finger around, pulling back and dotting its pupil. She coloured in the mane, as she did so she thought that if anyone was watching they would think she was losing her mind. The horse was technically finished when the final detailing of the tail was to her satisfaction, though something about it seemed incomplete. She gave it a saddle and drew herself on top of it, she was still unsatisfied.

She pulled her arm back and waited for some inspiration. As she drew blank, her thoughts went back to Ruby. The girl who had marched right into L-Corp and asked to see her on the off-chance it would bring her closer to getting her mother back. Then going back to school during awful events purely because that's what her mother would want.

She focused back on the ceiling and the image of her on that horse, stretching out her arm to start again. The horse was now armoured and she had given herself a sword to wield. The picture in her mind started moving, the horse galloping forward as she raised the sword triumphantly. A stronger version of her that knew no fear, a version that remained stalwart in the face of death, one unaffected by Reign. She scratched at her neck again, reminding herself that she could breath. Even though art was never a particular strongpoint for her, this was a masterpiece. Lena the valiant, charging into the unknown with a clear head and fire in her heart. After admiring her work a while longer, she turned her head back to the table. She had no idea of how much time had gone by and she tried reaching for her phone again. Her fingers were only an inch away from it, she finally gave in and swung her legs back around to the floor.

She called Kara, if she was on Reign's trail then Ruby could give her some solid leads. The phone rang, it kept ringing until she was directed to voicemail. A second attempt brought about the same result. She tossed her phone away and it clattered back on the table. She slumped back into the sofa, staring back up at a blank ceiling. Eventually she brought herself into some sort of order, she had a shower, spent some time reading and taking some much-needed down-time for herself. It was calm, serene, leisurely and before long, incredibly boring. As per her nature, she grew increasingly uncomfortable with just lounging about. She checked the time again. The evening had rolled around, it had at least taken a bit longer than usual for the urge to take some sort of action to kick in. She wanted to go ahead and get on with something productive. As her mind raced away again, the soreness in her neck flared and her vision dimmed briefly. She rubbed the bruising again, knowing had to give herself a break.

A wine bottled beckoned her over to the kitchen. A new idea occurred to her as she rummaged around the drawer for a corkscrew. “The Cheshire,” going to a bar hardly counted as real work but there was a possibility she could pick up on something Winn missed. The thought rolled around in her mind, there seemed little harm in it and a casual drink or two might help her back into a mindset where she could at least relax until tomorrow morning. Any information on Prometheus was also a chance to be on better terms with Kara if she ever got through to her. She looked it up, it was a little off the beaten path in a part of town she was unfamiliar with. She did her hair in a way that covered some of her face and found the plainest outfit in her wardrobe in an attempt to be less recognisable. With some extra make-up on her neck to cover the bruising she was ready to head out.

She had her driver drop her off a few blocks away. Though she had seen worse, the area was rather unpleasant. Pungent smells assaulted her nostrils and clusters of graffiti covered the walls, she thought about turning right back around. She let the image of herself on that horse, the shining knight, give her the confidence to drive forward. There was a faint sound of sirens as she walked quickly through the dimly lit streets. A few locals noticed her but gave her nothing more than glances. The winding roads on the maps she had looked up of this place were a bit unclear and a lot of the streets looked the same. Trusting the directions she had found, she came upon a wooden sign hanging between some residential blocks. Easy to miss unless you were seeking it out specificity. It had “The Cheshire” written on it in an old-style font above a picture of a grinning cat's face.

She swung the door open and stepped in. It had a narrow layout with wooden beams which gave it a classic feel. Even with its cramped size it seemed pretty empty. There was a clattering of pool balls coming from the corner, it seemed to be the only well-lit area besides the bar itself. A man and a woman were stood by this table, cues in hand. There was only one other patron she could see, he was in a booth at the far end and was watching her intently. She pretended not to notice and laid her coat over a stool that was right up at the bar. The bartender was a plump man with a friendly face.

“What'll it be, love?” he asked. She figured this was the kind of place without an extensive wine-list and a few stiff drinks might be good for her anyway.

“Double whiskey, on the rocks,” she said.

“Sure thing,” he said, moving off before she could specify the whiskey she wanted. His gruff voice did not match his friendly demeanour. The corner of her eye was on the man in the booth. He wore a plain hoodie and seemed fascinated by her presence. He grabbed his bottle and stood up, whilst he did so a glass was plonked in front of her. She looked down at the ice cubes bobbling around in an incredibly large amount of liquid for a supposed double.

“What do I owe you?” She said.

“First one's on the house,” he said. He then walked away and started arranging a few things behind the bar. This interaction had taken her attention away from the man in the booth, who had now pulled out a stool and planted himself next to her. He was in good shape and his stubble complimented his dark, cropped hair.

“Bit on the nose isn't it?” He said, turning to her, bottle still in hand. She expected this to be the first half of a stupid pick-up line. She looked right back at him and took a sip of whiskey.

“Prometheus. Prom-ee-thee-us,” he said, sounding out each syllable. She almost spat out her drink but managed to keep it to a slight cough instead. She then swallowed, surprised by the quality of it as the whiskey's burn tingled pleasantly on her tongue. She cleared her throat and put the glass down.

“Drink a little strong?” he said. She took another sip without breaking eye contact.

“What's on the nose?” she asked.

“Burns a bunch of buildings down, then announces to the world that he's called Prometheus. Not one for subtlety,” he said. He was well spoken, but there was a bit of an edge to his voice. She looked over him again, unsure of what to make of this stranger.

“Maybe it's more than that, maybe he sees himself as taking from the power on high and gifting it to the common folk,” she said, swirling the ice around in her glass. He smiled.

“Ooh, quite the thinker,” he said, he took another swig from his bottle. “Does that mean he has eternal punishment coming his way?”

She stopped fiddling with her glass, letting the momentum of the ice cubes swirl a bit longer, before they stopped she brought the glass up and took a big gulp.

“Is this how you greet everyone or is it just me?” she said.

“Imagine if it was, going up to someone and talking about the city's latest scourges apropos of nothing,” he said.

“So why do I get this privilege?” she asked.

“It's why you're here isn’t it?” he said. She stroked her chin, she had no reason to show her hand this early.

“You seem awfully confident that's the case,” she said.

“I say things. I hear things,” he said.

“How very vague of you,” she said, trying to discern if he knew who she was. The man was hard to read and she was convinced that it was not accidental.

“Explaining myself would take away the mystery,” he said.

“I'm not one for mystery,” she said.

“Very well,” he took another sip of his drink. “There's usually three people than frequent this place. The happy couple at the pool table and myself. Occasionally there's a fourth named Gary, landed himself an internship at some big accountancy firm. Smart, has a bright future.” He finished his drink which was promptly replaced. Without breaking eye contact he grabbed the new bottle and held it up, the bartender took the top clean off in one motion.

“So unless you're Gary I'd say you're one of the flurry of new faces asking about the same person. Now if it turns out you are Gary, I'll have some follow-up questions,” he said, looking pleased with himself.

“Well I can tell you that I'm not Gary,” she said, it at least seemed he did not know who she was.

“How very vague of you,” he said with a smirk.

“Maybe I'm a fan of mystery when it suits me,” she said.

“Well, not Gary, you can call me Monarch,” he said, looking at her expectantly.

She finished the whiskey before the ice could dilute it much more. She looked at him keeping her expression neutral.

“Well I’ve got to call you something,” he said. Lena plonked the glass down, still saying nothing and trying to read him. “I’m guessing this is a strange new place for you, seems fitting to call you Alice.”

“Should I be worried about what the name “Monarch” implies here?” she said.

“I’m just someone who knows things,” it was evident he was very much enjoying whatever game this was.

“Well, Monarch, what can you tell me?” She said.

“I can tell you a lot of things,” Monarch said, his wording was specifically vague. The bartender looked over to her, holding a bottle of whiskey. She nodded and another glass was slid over to her. She caught it and the liquid sloshed around, once again it was an incredibly generous portion.

“Can you tell me any useful things?” She asked. He cocked his head.

“Funny thing, rumours. Drawn all sorts to this humble little Wonderland as of late. Tell me why you're looking for Prometheus,” he said.

“You're avoiding the question,” she said, squinting her eyes at him.

“So are you,” he said. There was a silence between, only the occasional clatter of pool balls colliding broke it. She necked her whiskey, the bartender gave her another look but she shook her head. Monarch's refusal to be direct was frustrating to say the least, it felt like he was holding something back. If he did know something that could get foothold on this investigation it seemed she would have to coax it out of him.

“Most people like him are reckless and without honour. His methods interest me,” she said.

“People like him...” he seemed to be thinking hard on what she had just said as leaned his elbow on the bar.

“Villains?” he asked.

“It's hard to tell,” she said.

“So, if you did find him, you wouldn't administer that eternal punishment?” he said.

“That would depend on him,” she said. Monarch chuckled.

“I like that answer,” he said.

“Does that mean you'll tell me something useful?” she said.

“There's probably nothing of use I can tell you,” he said, she gestured to the bartender. The drink quickly arrived, she downed it in one and put the glass back down forcefully.

“You're telling me I've wasted my time,” she said, resisting the urge to blow air out as the strength of the drinks started to hit her. He did nothing but give her a contemplative look, so she stood up and reached for her bag hoping he would blurt out something to make her stay. He put his finger out and turned to the barman as she unzipped it.

“Lew, the lady's drinks are on me,” he said, he then turned back to her. “I like to think time with me is time well wasted.” She took a step back from her stool and folded her arms. He lifted her coat off of it and held it out for her. Though he had completely called her bluff she had to follow through, there was a feeling she had that he valued this exchange to an unusual degree. If she sat back down, she would lose any respect with this bizarre man and continue getting nothing out of him. She swiped the coat from his hands and put it on.

“It was a pleasure meeting you,” he said. She went over and pulled the exit open and the cool air hit her face. She looked back one last time, hoping he would flinch. He simply raised his bottle to her with a wry grin on his face. She left him behind, annoyed at how quickly this outing had ended.


	15. Revival

Sleep had found her very easily last night. This time she at least had the dignity of falling asleep in her bed. Being woken up by an alarm clock instead of a confused assistant was a nice change of pace. Another small mercy was that there was no hint of a hangover despite the copious amounts of whiskey the three “doubles” had been. Though her time there had been short, she had quite liked the Cheshire. Part of her wanted to go back as soon as she could. She was sure the man she spoke with knew a lot more than he had let on. The Cheshire also had a quaint charm to it, though this may have just been inflated in her mind as she stood in the sterile, open space of the labs she had been wandering around all morning. She had insisted on being there when Alex came in to get her arms sorted out.

Dr. Dyer spoke at quite a pace and made for quite the show as Alex tried to keep up with her. She had been offered a tour of the place whilst everything was being prepared for her new arms, which she had foolishly accepted. Alex seemed apprehensive throughout, Lena wrote it off as nervousness about the whole process. After-all, how it all went would determine how she would live the rest of her life. The lectures involved the intricacies of the design, how it aligned with her biology and a history of failed prototypes. An assistant in a dishevelled lab-coat finally released them from Tammy's ramblings.

“We're ready,” the assistant said.

“Finally,” Alex said. Thanks to the tour they now had intimate knowledge of the equipment and screens they were passing. Lena was grateful for the lack of a hangover as the bright lights and numerous shining surfaces were hard on the eyes. The door they were led over too was more like a vault, it was part of the security processes L-Corp labs went through. Tammy punched in a key code and the door unsealed, revealing a small room with a horizontal chamber in.

“Before we go in, there's just the matter of the paperwork,” Tammy said.

“Must you, Doctor?” Lena said.

“If this form isn't signed then we're liable should something go wrong,” she said. Alex seemed unbothered by this statement despite its bluntness. Lena snatched the form from her.

“I'll accept any responsibility,” she said, then looked to Alex. “Not that anything will go wrong.”

“Filling me with confidence here,” Alex said.

“The procedure is flawless, but the legal team keeps telling me I have to do these things,” Tammy said.

“Consider me the legal team for today,” Lena said.

“I can work with that,” Tammy said as she slid out a long metal panel from the chamber's entrance.

“Lie down on here,” Tammy said. Lena helped Alex through the awkward process of getting up onto the panel with no arms.

“This thing looks a bit menacing,” Alex said.

“It’s perfectly safe,” Tammy said. Alex looked to Lena, who gave her a thumbs up and a worried smile. Though she had studied the schematics it was still a shock to see this machine for real, there were a series of mechanical appendages with points, grabbers and other ominous looking tools.

“Now stay as still as you can,” Tammy said. She joined her assistant over at a control panel and started inspecting a few monitors before flipping a switch. The panel slid into an opening at the edge of the chamber.

“Here we go,” Alex said. Lena watched her disappear into the chamber. Standing on the outside, it was hard to see exactly what was happening. All she saw from her limited view was Alex doing an amazing job of staying still amongst the frantic motions of the machines around her. After a few minutes of the doctor and machines toiling away everything came to a stop, another flick of a switch and Alex was out again. The research and schematics paled in comparison to seeing the actual arms up close, their impressiveness was amplified by the delight on Alex's face as she instinctively propped herself up and realised she had done this with actual working arms. She inspected them closely, lifting them up and down. Clenching and unclenching her hands. The casings were made of carbon-fibre with each joint in the elbows and fingers covered by white, more flexible plastics. The joining to what had remained of Alex's arms was almost seamless, her skin contrasting with the smooth, black surface of the artificial arms’ design. Tammy came back down to them with a clipboard in hand.

“Alright, Agent Danvers, I see basic movement is functional,” she said whilst scribbling a few notes and ticking some boxes. “I need to ask you to do a few things.” Lena could not help but smile as Alex was still in total elation, so much so that her pre-occupation with the arms lead her to accidentally blank Tammy completely. After a couple of failed attempts to get her attention Tammy resorted to prodding her with a pen.

“Mimic my motions with both arms,” Tammy said. What followed was a series of movements designed to test each artificial joint and general motion. Where Tammy's arms seemed to flow, Alex's movements were angular with slight delays, but she was able to keep up for the most part. Tammy nodded away and scribbled some more notes.

“They feel odd,” Alex said.

“The biological elements are adjusting to your nervous system. Waggle your fingers,” Tammy said. Alex followed the command but seemed to have to concentrate harder than before. Each finger moved individually as if she had trouble moving more than one at a time.

“Very good,” Tammy said.

“Wasn’t that slow?” Alex said.

“They'll gradually attune to you more over time. There's only so much we can do to prepare the limbs for your body pre-op,” Tammy said. Whilst the initial euphoria seemed to be wearing off, Alex was still ecstatic, her mood brightening up a rather drab room.

“When Winn told me you asked for my arms I thought you were crazy, but wow have you delivered,” she said. The mood was infectious and Lena beamed at her.

“I'm glad I could provide, but it was Dr. Dyer and her team who you should be thanking,” she said.

Tammy seemed totally disinterested in thanks and gave out another order.

“Shake her hand,” she said.

“I feel more like kissing her,” Alex said. Lena chuckled as the doctor slumped her shoulders and sighed. The good mood was getting in the way of her work.

“We're testing your arms and hands, not your mouth,” she said. Lena gave Alex an amused look as she put out her hand, Alex took hold. Her grip was very loose at first, a brief look of concentration came across her face and it tightened significantly. Lena gritted her teeth but kept face in an attempt to keep her from being discouraged.

“It's hard to control,” Alex said.

“Control will come in time. I want you to visit next week to log progress and make any necessary adjustments,” Tammy said.

“How much time?” Alex said.

“Sample size is very small but on average it's a few months to gain a comfortable level of control. Finger dexterity and intended level of strength take the most work Some adjustments and calibrations can be made but until we get more samples and data, it's mostly a case of getting used to it. Those things are brand new to your body after-all and even though you work them like regular arms, the way they operate is fundamentally different from your old ones. I'd recommend certain precautions, don't carry any fragile objects for a while and use plastic cutlery. It's not unlikely for spasms or unexpected movement to occur every now and then,” Tammy said.

“Look, I'm a field agent, can you give me a rough estimate for when I can get out there again?” Alex asked. Tammy turned to Lena.

“I just told her to use plastic cutlery and she's asking me about guns,” she said.

“Agent Danvers' work means a lot to her, I think she's just eager,” Lena said.

“That's one word for it,” Tammy said, diving back into her notes. Lena mouthed the word “sorry” to Alex, she gave a slight shrug and mouthed “don't worry about it” back. Lena checked the time, she had already stayed longer than she should have and needed to get back to the office.

“I should be off, doctor. Can I steal Agent Danvers away from you for a minute before I leave?” she asked.

“Be quick, there's a lot more tests and checks to go through,” she said. Lena lead her out of the room, they spoke on the way to the exit

“You heard me when I said I was joking about the new pair of arms right?” Alex said.

“Yes, shame I have a terrible sense of humour,” she said.

Alex stopped her and affectionately rubbed her shoulder.

“Careful, the doctor might start taking notes,” Lena said.

“It's a risk I'm willing to take,” Alex said, she stepped back. “Seriously though, thank you so much for this. I don’t know if the reality of it all had quite hit me and you’ve already fixed it.”

“I still feel like I owe you after what you did for me,” Lena said.

“Trust me when I say you don't need to feel that way anymore,” Alex said, inspecting her arms again. “I mean wait ‘til my friends get a load of these.”

“I'll try to keep it in mind,” she said.

“Well don't hang around on my account, I know you're a busy woman,” Alex said.

“Before I go... can I ask you something?” she said.

“Fire away,” Alex said.

“Is Kara Okay? I'm worried about her,” she said. Alex tensed up.

“Why? Did she contact you?” she said.

“No, I tried calling her a couple of times last night but she didn't answer,” she said. Alex seemed strangely disappointed by this.

“She's going through a lot right now,” she said.

“Is she angry with me?” Lena said.

“I'd be lying if the CatCo thing hadn't rattled her, but it's not you that’s got her like this. As you know it was Mon-El that started it and the way Reign got me... and Supergirl… She's just on edge okay?” she said. Lena felt guilty for feeling relieved, she should have felt bad for Kara but was pleased it was not her fault.

“Well, if you see her. Tell her Sam Arias' daughter came to see me recently. I figured she might be able to help her find out more about Reign,” she said. Alex hesitated before speaking.

“I'll pass the message on,” she said. Alex then half-smiled at her, the positive attitude seemed to have dissipated as an awkward silence fell between them.

“Well I should head off. That offer still stands by the way, anything you need, you call,” Lena said.

“I will,” she said, looking back to the labs where Dr. Dyer had re-emerged. She was looking increasingly impatient whilst she checked her watch.

“Looks like I have a full schedule myself. Bye for now, Lena,” she said. They parted ways.

The city offered nothing for entertainment on her short journey back to the L-Corp main office. She was greeted with the usual hustle and bustle of the ground floor. People usually stayed out of her way when she arrived, a perk of coming in later was everyone stopped what they were doing to watch her. For her, every entrance into this place was a grand one. However, as she approached the reception there was a man paying little attention to his surroundings as he talked to a frustrated looking receptionist.

“I'm telling you that she'll want to see me,” the man said, the voice was familiar. The receptionist perked up as she spotted her.

“Well you can tell her yourself,” the receptionist said pointing behind him. The man turned, casually leaning on the reception desk as his mouth rose up to an all-too-familiar wry grin.

“Well hello, Alice,” he said.


	16. Spark

“Sir, you can't lean on the desk like that,” the receptionist said. Monarch obeyed briefly, then jumped backwards and landed on the desk with no semblance of grace. He startled everyone around him as he thudded into a seated position. He sat there swinging his legs back and forth, still grinning at Lena. She looked at him coldly.

“Why are you here?” She asked.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said.

“Well it'll have to wait,” she said as she brushed passed him. Whilst she was intrigued, there was a lot of actual work to do. She wanted to make him wait anyway, the exchange was on her terms this time and she would make use of it.

“No worries, I'll be down here when you're done,” he said. She headed straight off, leaving Monarch behind as he explained the difference between leaning and sitting to an increasingly disgruntled receptionist.

Her office had been cleared of debris, the inferior desk now looking even more pathetic as it sat in the middle of an open floor. The poor thing had been relying on the mess around it to draw the eye away. The list of the most immediate tasks involved a lot of damage control and financial matters. Reign and Prometheus' dust up had caused more obvious problems such as P.R. headaches along with worried business partners, the worst side-effect from an L-Corp perspective was that she was down a C.F.O. It was not an easy position to fill quickly at the best of times and the recent events ensured no-one was in a hurry to apply for the role. The work felt slow, numerous calls involving repetitive reassurances. Despite having a good financial team in place, Sam’s lack of input was certainly felt. She tried not to dwell too much on her absence, letting the work occupy her instead.

After finishing up the odds and ends she sunk back in her chair. A million more things would crop up, but for now the more immediate business was dealt with. Her critics would often call her callous for not taking her foot off the pedal in times like these. She paid little attention as these critics were often people with no experience in running their own company. She spun in the chair and admired the newly fitted windows. Raindrops were spattering against them, she had been too absorbed in her work to notice exactly when it had started. The water raced and joined with the static drops as they made their way down the glass. She only watched for a few moments before spinning back around to the intercom.

“Are there any more pressing matters for my attention?” she asked.

“Just the usual busy-work,” her assistant said. Lena sighed, everything felt like busy-work these days. She had enjoyed herself much less over the past few weeks, she had persisted in the knowledge that the CatCo deal would go through at some point. It was a fresh platform to sink her teeth into was exactly the kind of challenge she relished and a large part of why she bought it out. If Prometheus had not shown up, she and L-Corp would be in their absolute prime. Sometimes you catch a break in the form of a media mogul doing something monumentally stupid, sometimes you get unlucky and an armoured fanatic with a sudden vendetta swears to destroy everything you stand for, such was life.

The buzz of the intercom filled the air.

“Apparently there’s a man downstairs who’s insisting you want to see him, he’s still milling about in the lobby,” her assistant said. Lena looked at the clock, it had been hours. The work had side-tracked her and she had left Monarch waiting much longer than she intended.

“He’s still here?” She said.

“Apparently, he’s not given any reason to be kicked out, but security is getting a bit restless,” her assistant said. She admired his patience if nothing else.

“Have him sent up,” she said. She wanted to test her theory that he knew something. If anything she could kick him out if he was here to waste more of her time.

Soon enough Monarch had sauntered in. He waved at her and then kept walking on through the office, slowly spinning as he went.

“This place is swanky. Desk seems a little off though,” he said. She opted to keep watching him silently as he took in his surroundings. He looked back at her and then whipped out a small notepad, scribbling only a couple of words before flipping it shut again.

“Nicely done by the way. I screw you around at the bar, so you screw me around here,” he said, it sounded like he was genuinely complimenting her.

“I’m not screwing you around. I had work to do, still have,” she said, he chortled.

“C.E.O.s don't do real work, you were probably browsing for a new yacht or something,” he said. Lena could see what he was doing, she cocked her head.

“You want me on the defensive. Why?” she said.

“I’ve been down there for hours, even behaved myself for the most part. I thought I’d prod,” he said.

“No more games, Monarch. Either get to the point or get out,” she said, that grin of his dropped for the first time.

“It's no fun if you don't play,” he said, pouting like a stubborn child. A long, disinterested look was enough to break him. When he did speak up again, his voice was flat as if the energy had been sucked out of him.

“Last night I saw the usual assortment of Feds and pencil-pushers. Then you walk in with a different air about you. Imagine my surprise when I get close and see who I see,” he said.

“So, you knew who I was the whole time,” she said.

“Who's to say?” he said with a little more flair.

“I said no more games,” she said. He huffed.

“Who you were didn't matter at the time anyway. Lew might have recognised you, but he'll keep it to himself, bartender's code or whatever,” he said. She folded her arms, showing her impatience. His reluctant tone suggested he did not want to be talking in such a straight manner.

“Alice told me her thoughts on Prometheus, do you share those thoughts?” he asked.

“I stand by what I said,” she said, figuring the peculiar wording matched the peculiar man. He tapped his cheek and scrunched his mouth to the side. He clicked his tongue a few times whilst he looked at her before settling himself.

“I'm going to help you find him,” he said. It was Lena's turn to chortle.

“You're offering to help me?” she said.

“Yep,” he said.

“What on Earth can you provide that my resources and connections to proper agencies can't?” she said. He did not miss a beat as that confident aura of his started to return.

“I'm guessing you want this done fast. Those resources you mentioned are exactly why you need me instead. Those agency lot spend so much time trawling irrelevant data. The few that do venture outside their cosy buildings are so obviously Feds that they might as well have neon signs on their heads,” he said.

“At least they have their data, I'm not hearing a reason you'll be any better,” she said. He took a seat on one of her new sofas, stretching out his arms and legs.

“With a few choice words in the right places I was able to lure and scope out exactly who was looking for him, including you,” he said. She narrowed her eyes, wandering if the man on her sofa had been responsible for Winn’s lead.

“Those government types find an alien hang-out or two and think they know how the world works,” he said.

“But you actually know how the world works I take it?” She said.

“Seems to be what I’m implying doesn’t it?” He shifted his posture more upright. “Besides I'd bet a large sum that they're far more focused on the big bad World Killer who beat up Supergirl and then went on a rampage in Metropolis,” he said. She had kept struggled to get through even a few sentences on reports on Reign. The mere sight of her on the screen was enough to trigger her anxieties so she had given up. It did ease her to know that she was at least out of the city.

“What's to stop me going to someone more reputable? Hell, I know the best reporter in the city and you're telling me to pick you over someone I know I can trust,” she said. He made another note when she said this.

“Reporters chase stories, I chase the truth,” he said. She raised an eyebrow.

“Very deep,” she said.

“You're right, I need to stop using that line,” he said. She smirked at having dented that confidence again.

“What I mean to say is they're busy constructing a narrative. Sure, it's better for informing the people, but that's not what you want is it?” He said, she thought for a moment.

“I would rather get to the heart of the matter,” she said.

“There we go, whilst a reporter so thoroughly investigates the fringes, they inadvertently drive away the people who really know what's going on,” he said.

“This is the part where you tell me you don't do that and that reporters are all garbage” she said.

“I'm guessing the people you know are the high society types, have big apartments and work on the top floors in fancy buildings,” he said. She wanted to think of a rebuttal, but he was right.

“I'm just saying, it's hard to keep your ear to the ground when you’re on the top floor,” he said. They were on opposite ends of the room, Lena eyed him. He had a way of speaking and a general casual demeanour that made him incredibly hard to read, it was impossible to tell how much of him was genuine. Logically It was likely that he knew absolutely nothing and was still playing games, it was her instincts that told her to keep him in the room.

“One more question,” she said.

“I eagerly await,” he said.

“What's in this for you, so far you've talked about the how and not the why,” she said.

“Well my motives are similar to yours. I want to see what makes this guy tick. Of course, I also expect some sort of payment for my time,” he said.

“How much would that set me back?” She asked.

“We can discuss that when we're done, you can decide what my work is worth to you,” he said. There seemed to be nothing to lose and this open offer was the spark to get the investigation off the ground. Though she would need to tread carefully, if Monarch turned out to be a liar she could send him on his way.

“What if I decide it's worth nothing,” she said. 

“I'm a fair man, but if I feel short-changed a few choice words in the wrong places can make your life difficult,” he said.

“That sounds a lot like extortion,” she said, staring him down. His demeanour remained distinctly relaxed.

“Cool it, it wasn't a threat. If I find nothing for you then I walk away with nothing, simple as,” he said. He stood up, walked across the room with a skip in his step and put his hand out. “Do we have a deal?”

She stood up and reached for his hand, he pulled it away.

“Actually I have a condition, be less serious every once and a while,” he said. Not justifying this comment with a direct response, she grabbed his hand firmly and shook. She had a feeling this was as close to working with a real contract that this man got.

“Now, Lena, this is where the fun starts,” he said.

“I'm sure,” she said. He let go of her hand.

“Wait, before the fun starts. This best reporter in the city of yours, why aren’t they on this case for you?” he asked. Lena was taken aback by the question.

“She's... otherwise occupied,” she said.

“And who is she exactly?” he said.

“Kara Danvers,” she said.

“Oh, Kara Danvers,” he said, nodding slightly. Lena perked up.

“You've heard of her?” She said.

“Nope.” Any glimpses of seriousness he had shown her in the past few minutes had all but vanished as that grin of his returned in full force. She rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“So where do we start with Prometheus?” She said.

“Moving swiftly on I see,” he said, he checked his fingernails. “We start with the important information we can gather.” His eyes flitted back to her.

“Name, location, clues as to who or what Prometheus is. These have all been pursued thoroughly and yielded nothing,” she said. He sighed and put his head in his hands.

“You think like the Feds. Where's Alice? She sees beyond the obvious,” he said.

“Funnily enough, we're the same person,” she said, he looked mildly disappointed. It was obviously information he already knew, it was why he was here. Despite this, something about this statement did not seem to sit right with him.

“Thinking like that is why you're stuck,” he said. Before she could try and work out what he meant, he quickly returning to his energetic form.

“That stuff you listed, not important. It’s how Prometheus operates that matters. When he was after you he arrived by helicopter...” he said.

“I already looked into that, there's no useful leads,” she said.

“Forget leads, that's Danvers talk,” he said. Lena frowned.

“You don't even know her,” she said. The corner of Monarch’s mouth twitched slightly at her response.

“Don't need to. Anyway, think about the implications. He arrives by chopper to take you, but what about his exit route? Prommy would have had a full plan in place that didn’t account for such a thorough interruption,” he said. She started to click with this line of thinking.

“He wouldn't have left on the helicopter with me, it would be too easy to spot and make him a sitting duck to someone with an “S” on their chest,” she said.

“Exactly, he would have had an alternate vehicle waiting or gone underground. Probably with some distractions and misdirects in play. Add the first attacks, multiple locations across the entire city, quick enough to be unnoticed and all meticulously timed…”

“Which he couldn't do alone,” she said.

“Ding, ding ,ding. That's where we start,” he said.

“So, we're looking for potential associates?” she said.

“Yep, the types with technical know-how and are good at staying under the radar. No more aimlessly wandering into bars for you,” he said.

“What makes you so sure that’s the kind of person we’re looking for?” She said.

“I don't know what this team of his used to burn those buildings down, but it was either very illegal or very alien. Either way your average mook won't cut it,” he said.

“So, what's the first move?” She said.

“A shopping trip,” he said.

“What?” she said, failing to connect whatever bizarre dots he was seeing.

“Come on, get your things,” he said.

“I can't just leave,” she said.

“We both know that isn't true. Now come on, you think I'm dumb enough to guess a woman's size? You're coming with,” he said.

“If you're going to work for me, you need to get better at explaining yourself,” she said.

“You need to look the part,” he said.

“For what?” She said.

“For the bar we're aimfully wandering into,” he said with that stupid grin on his face.


	17. Questions

She was in the outfit Monarch had picked out for her. Though the dress would not particularly draw the eye, there was a simple elegance to it. The shoes were a different story, they were an odd hybrid of platforms and trainers. It hurt her soul to wear the short chunky heels and she had been so very tempted to change them up before heading out. The shopping trip had been efficient and the total cost had been very low. Monarch had then bolted immediately after he was satisfied with her look and had left a card that had a phone number on. It had no logo, title or even a name. He had not even bothered to ask for her contact details, he gave her a time and a place. 7:30pm at a bar named “Exit.” Once again, she had her driver drop her off a few blocks away so she would not draw attention to herself. This bar was in another area she knew little about, though was in significantly better condition than where The Cheshire resided. Exit stood out from its surroundings, there was a soft purple glow behind an all lower-case sign at the top of the building. She peered inside what looked to be a busy night. The pale colours and smooth designs gave it a modern feel, the kind of place she would usually avoid as it seemed to be trying too hard to be trendy.

She checked her watch, another thing Monarch had picked out for her, it was 7:28pm. There was no sign of him yet. She inspected Exit further whilst she waited. The bland electronic music suited the minimalist aesthetic. The long line of patrons were all smartly dressed, some of the women wore more flamboyant outfits. She had to admit that Monarch had got the style right apart from the shoes. She looked down at them as she adjusted her footing, the rain had stopped but the pavement was still glimmering. She rubbed her arms as a wind-chill breezed by.  
“Need a jacket?” It was Monarch. She checked her watch, 7:30pm on the nose.  
“What the hell are you wearing?” she asked. Monarch looked down at his suit.  
“I think I look spiffy,” he said.  
“You look like a P.I. From the fifties,” she said.  
“If that were the look I was going for, I'd be wearing a hat. Besides I left my notebook and hip-flask at home,” he said. She shook her head and sighed.

“What are we even looking for here, this place doesn't exactly scream Prometheus at me,” she said.  
“We aren't looking, we're finding,” he said. Lena rolled her eyes, questioning why she had agreed to this at all.  
“Hold up, before you walk away from me all sassy-like,” he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses, “Put these on.”  
“What are those for?” She asked.  
“We don't want people recognising you,” he said.  
“You seriously think people won't recognise me because I have glasses on?” she said.  
“You'd be surprised,” he said, straitening his tie. “Now let's get a move on, I told my contact to meet me here at 7.” She looked down at her watch again.  
“You are aware it's just gone 7:30, right? She said.  
“Yep, I'd say we have another five to fifteen minutes,” he said. She was really doubting her agreement to this now.  
“That's not how time works, Monarch,” she said.  
“This isn't a board meeting. 7pm can mean just about anything, you'll have to get used to that,” he said, offering his arm. She reluctantly obliged and they walked together, he led her straight to the front of the queue. The bouncer had not been taking much notice of the people walking in but blocked the way when they approached.  
“Horus, you know I barred you last month,” he said. She glared at him and pulled her arm away, the sudden new name was suspicious to say the least.  
“You seem to be forgetting you unbarred me after I helped you solve that freezer incident,” Monarch said. The bouncer looked up, seemingly barely recalling whatever it was they were talking about.  
“Don’t do this to me now, Clarence,” he said.  
“Fine. Who's your friend here?” Clarence asked. Monarch spoke before she could answer with anything.  
“This is Lucky,” he said. Clarence lightly touched her shoulders and looked her right in the eyes.  
“You don't know me, but trust this advice.” His face was extremely stern. “You are too good for this man,” he said.  
“Thank you, Clarence,” Monarch said in a flat tone, offering his arm once more. Clarence stepped aside.  
She looked down at the offer, contemplating if any of this was worth it at all. She had nothing to go on apart from the word of an untrustworthy man. This was the closest thing she had to a quick lead on Prometheus. Reluctantly, she took his arm.  
“I appreciate the heads up,” she said as they walked by.  
“Have a nice night now,” Clarence said.

The music was louder than she liked and she had to raise her voice to be heard.  
“Horus?” she asked. He ignored her at first, pushing through the crowded bar. The crowd was not particularly dense and she noticed the occasional alien patron, the bystanders were undisturbed by their presence. He was manoeuvring them to the edge where there were a series of booths, most were occupied but there were a couple of empty ones with reserved signs. The one he sat down in only had a name, “Yondran.” No time or event was specified. In her mind it meant this place was run on some sort of anarchy. 

The moment she planted herself in the booth he spoke up again.  
“I thought you'd be more interested in the freezer incident if I'm honest,” he said. Though she was actually a little intrigued, there were more pressing questions at hand.  
“Horus? Lucky? What's that about?” she said. Confident the music was too loud for anyone to overhear their conversation.  
“To him, I'm Horus,” he said.

“So what about Monarch?” She said.

“To Alice and Lena, I’m Monarch. Simple stuff.” He seemed to be determined to be as vague as possible at every turn.  
“What do I call you when this contact of yours shows up?” she asked.  
“To Lucky, I'm also Horus,” he said.  
“You've given me a dog's name, what was wrong with Alice?” she said

“Horus doesn’t know Alice,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He begun looking all around and checked his watch.  
“They may have already been and gone,” she said,  
“Nah, I just need to time this right,” he said, only partially paying attention to her. She let it be, following it up felt like it would be a wasted effort. She pushed the glasses up the bridge of her nose. They were uncomfortable to wear and the lenses seemed off somehow.  
“What if he doesn’t co-operate?” she said.  
“He will. Besides if things go wrong you can always fight him,” he said. She assumed he was trying to pull her leg.  
“Why am I doing the fighting?” she said.  
“Well I’ve never been a fight in my life so that rules me out,” he said. This man who claimed to have an excellent knowledge of the criminal underworld had never been in a fight, there was a lie in there somewhere. He continued, “Don’t you have executive anti-kidnap training under your belt, you can karate your way to victory.”  
“Well yes, but that’s not how it…”.  
“Great, I’m the brains, you’re the muscle. We're a dream team,” he interrupted, lightly hitting her on the shoulder.

The fact he was known and had a contact to go too were small reassurances, it was at all at least proved some sort of credibility. It kept her from letting common sense prevail and getting out of there. She tapped her fingers on the table as they waited, not much time had gone by before she started wondering how necessary her presence was.  
“It feels like you could do this part without me. I mean aren't you just talking to someone you already know?” she said.  
“Then you'd miss out on all the foreplay, the sitting around and piecing everything together is the boring part,” he said.  
“I can think of a lot of people who would disagree,” she said. He checked his watch again.  
“Like who?”  
“Every reporter ever and every investigator I’ve ever met,” she said. He scoffed at her, but she continued. “With them it’s more interviews and fact-finding rather than bars and freezer incidents.” He smiled.  
“So you are curious about the freezer incident,” he said.  
“That’s not what I said, and I feel like you aren't addressing the main point here,” she said, he looked at her sceptically. It was enough to break her.  
“Fine, tell me about the freezer incident,” she said. He launched straight into the story.  
“Our good friend Clarence out there recommended an upgrade to the freezers here to the manager, something that could monitor the temperature to a ludicrously accurate degree and save a lot on the power bill. Manager let him do it, but little did Clarence know that the upgrade software he “procured” was a much higher grade than he thought. Long story short, the newly integrated, mostly-sentient A.I. in control of the freezers reckoned such a simple task was beneath it,” he said.  
“You fixed some A.I. tech then,” she said, doubtful at the prospect of such technical expertise.  
“If by fixed you mean convinced it that being a freezer was a noble profession, then yes,” he said, she groaned.  
“Is anything you say true?” she asked.  
“Where did I lose you?” he said.  
“About two seconds before you started speaking,” she said. He held his heart, feigning offence. He then tapped his watch.  
“I’m getting us some drinks,” he said, setting off suddenly. He was gone before she could even say what she wanted.

A few more minutes passed as she sat there on her own, soaking in the lively atmosphere and checking her phone to find no interesting messages. She was not really sure what she was checking for, but she kept trying. If Kara messaged her, she could at least respond that she was on Prometheus’ trail. She had to keep adjusting the glasses on her face to see the screen properly. When she looked up for what felt like the hundredth time, there was someone standing at the table. His thin body seemed to exaggerate his height, but even with his deceptive proportions he must have stood at seven feet. He had a hairless head and strange markings on his purple skin, it was an alien species she had not seen before.  
“I’d normally take issue with someone sitting at a reserved table, but for you I’ll make an exception,” he said. His Southern accent did not match his look at all.  
“Charmed,” she said with a frown. He slid into the seat opposite her.  
“And who might you be?” he said.  
“You can call me Lucky,” she said, an internal dismay bounced around her head at having validated that ridiculous name.  
“Well I feel like I’m the lucky one,” he said, looking her up and down.  
“Very clever,” She fiddled with the reserved sign. An amused flicker appeared at the corner of his mouth, she held his gaze.  
“I haven’t seen you around before. Care to stay for a moment?” He said. Before she could react, a glass was plonked in front of her. Monarch had placed a champagne flute with a blue, bubbling liquid inside.  
“Ah, Yondran. Sorry I wasn’t here to greet you, we’ve been waiting so long that we started to doubt if you were coming at all,” he said, stammering over some of his words. Yondran did not look away from her but his face changed to a puzzled expression.  
“You’re here… with him?” Yondran said. She looked up to Monarch, he stood next to her with a bottle in his hand and a nervous expression. He seemed completely different to the confident man she had met in The Cheshire.  
“That remains to be seen,” she said, letting him wait there a while longer before shuffling down the booth to let him sit. Yondran reluctantly turned to him.  
“What do you want, Horus?” he said.  
“There’s this guy, we want information on him,” he said. There was a silence between them, Yondran waited with a smug air about him rather than ask for any clarification. Lena eventually cut this down.  
“Prometheus is the guy in question,” she said. A short, sharp exhale left Yondran’s nose.  
“Did this guy tell you I could lead you to Prometheus?” He asked her.  
“He seemed pretty adamant,” she said.  
“This guy is sitting right here you know,” Monarch said, they both ignored him.  
“Well you’re certainly better off with me than him. Although I have to tell you there isn’t even any proof Prometheus is a guy. Info is seriously tight,” he said.  
“Hey, I have connections too,” Monarch said. Yondran sniggered and looked to her again.  
“Sometimes you need more than connections,” he said. She took a sip of the mystery blue drink and was overwhelmed by the sweetness of it. It was awful and just added to her bemusement at the whole situation. Monarch was still playing weird games and she had been dragged into a meeting with a man that seemed to know less than she did about Prometheus.  
“So far I’m hearing a lot of nothing,” she said.  
“Prometheus has high standards and has given nothing away. Horus here won’t find you jack,” he said.  
“Oh, so now you’re saying I don’t match your standard?” Monarch said.  
“Let’s just say some of us are more reputable than others,” he said.  
“I don’t have to listen to this, give us something useful or I’m out,” Monarch said, he stood up. Yondran leaned back in his seat and said nothing, a scenario she recognised all too well. Monarch turned to her expectantly, it was a dilemma. So far she still had nothing and was tempted to see if Yondran actually had anything of note to say, he had only been interested in posturing and might be more open without Monarch there. She had to make a quick decision so opted against it, she had far too little information on who this man was and the longer she stayed the greater chance she might slip up in some way. Monarch smiled as she got up to leave, but it soon disappeared when she pushed passed him and headed straight for the door. She worked her way back through the crowd and messaged her driver, her patience had run out. Leaving the tacky music and bright, coloured lights behind made getting out of there all the more pleasurable. When she was finally clear and the cool air hit her face, she strode down the street to meet her driver.  
“I hate that place too, but no need to be in such a rush. Those drinks were expensive,” Monarch must have followed her out and was now jogging to catch up.  
“I’m getting out of here, right now,” she said.  
“Okay, but we need to discuss our next steps,” he said.  
“Next steps…” she could not believe what she was hearing. “You’re implying we’ve made progress? All you’ve done from the start is waste my time,” she said. He was keeping pace beside her now.  
“We got exactly what we needed,” he said. She kept walking, she had had enough of him.  
“No questions? No comeback?” he said.  
“No, now go away,” she said. He stayed alongside her.  
“Hold on, hold on...” he said, he tried to say more but she cut him off.  
“This whole endeavour has been ridiculous, how could you possibly tell me you got something worthwhile out of that?” she said.  
“I’m not ridiculous, I just know which roads I'm taking,” he said. She stopped at her meeting point, her driver was yet to arrive.  
“I need to get something on Prometheus now and you’re getting me nothing. Goodbye,” she said. He cocked his head inquisitively and looked away for a moment.  
“I told you we have what we need. Yet something has you riled up…” he trailed off.  
“Maybe you should consider the fact it’s you that has me riled up and maybe you should stop trying to hide how you don’t match up to a real reporter,” she said. This was meant to be scathing, she expected him to defend himself or take another jab at reporters. Instead he stopped talking and stroked his chin. He cocked his head at different angles, examining her intently. She looked down the road, her driver could not get here soon enough. After a minute of this quiet inspection he spoke up.  
“This real reporter of yours, what was her name… Danvers. She had no interest in you or Prometheus?” Lena’s neck snapped right back around to look at him.  
“What’s she got to do with any of this?” she asked.  
“That’s what I want to know,” he said, the car emerged from around the corner and pulled up beside her. Monarch knocked on the window. “What’s your driver’s name?”  
“Steven,” she said. The window whirred down.  
“Hey Steve, you know where the Cheshire is right?” he said. Steven looked to her with a confused expression.  
“Why on earth would I go there with you after all that?” she said.  
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” he said.


	18. Reasoning

“Give me one reason I should hear you out,” Lena said. They faced off, the street-lights glimmering off the drying pavement. Monarch stood still as the light breeze fluttered his long coat, she could see the reluctance in his eyes.

“I’ll tell you in the Cheshire,” he said, looking over his shoulder.

“Not good enough,” she whipped off the glasses and tossed them at him, he caught them cleanly with his left hand. As she opened the car door, Monarch groaned and lowered his voice.

“Yondran is one of the most capable mercs in the city and everyone knows it. He also doesn’t have a single moral fibre in him. That makes him the go too for corporate meddling, if he isn’t working for Prometheus that means Prom’s motives are his own. That seriously narrows down the types that Prometheus would have working with him,” he said, she got in the car. Monarch leaned down to her, speaking faster as he went.

“You think he’s the only one I talked too today? I’ve been ruling people in and out since we met.” Lena thought for a moment, she had finally managed to get some real reasoning out of him and there was a certain logic to it, even if they were quite presumptuous leaps. The fact he brought Kara up out of the blue caught her interest.

“Get in,” she said. She sat there, with no intention of giving any orders until she got more. Monarch looked mildly baffled as the car remained stationary.

“So, are we going or what?” he asked.

“Not yet, I want to know what it is we just did and what I’m doing here,” she said.

“I have what we need, we can move on,” he said.

“Explain yourself, Monarch... or Horus or whatever it is you really call yourself,” she said. His gaze lingered out the window. He was sucking the air through his teeth, genuinely perturbed at this request. He exhaled loudly.

“The people I talked too today, most have a reason to give me what I need or are easy to pull information from. Yondran isn't. The reasons he’s so popular with the corporate gigs is that he’s discreet and knows how to keep his mouth shut,” he said. Lena was unsure as to how a seven foot, purple man stayed discreet. Monarch carried on.

“Like anyone though, he has his flaws. The guy’s obsessed with status. The only reason he agreed to meet at all was that I could get him a table at that ridiculous bar,” he said.

“He agreed to meet you for a table. Let me guess, it’s one of those pretentious places that goes out of their way to make it difficult to reserve a spot in their oh so exclusive club,” she said.

“Pretty much,” he said

“That begs the question how you managed to do it,” she said

“You think Clarence is the only one in there who owed me a favour?” he said.

“So you got him a fancy spot, that doesn’t explain why I had to be there,” she said.

“If I went solo, he would have shut me down the second he showed up. But, give a guy like that a chance to look big and he starts getting careless with his words,” he said.

“And what better way to make a man act big than letting him put another man down in front of a woman,” she said. Monarch nodded.

“Can we get going now, having this conversation in the back of a car makes it feel like a cheap crime-drama,” he said. She pressed a button and the driver’s partition came down, she asked him to head off to The Cheshire. He acknowledged her and the partition slowly rolled back up.

“We’re on our way, keep talking. I’m not guaranteeing I’m getting out of this car when we get there,” she said. It genuinely seemed to pain him that he had to explain his actions, but she would be damned if she was going to let him run wild on this. It was her show and she was going to remind him of that.

“I've at least earned myself a lift then,” he said. Lena refused to humour him and simply waited for him to continue.

“What more is there to say?” He said.

“What information supposedly got out of that, or what that shopping trip was about,” she said, looking down at the hideous shoes.

“Yondran might overdo the whole pride thing, but he isn’t stupid. He’d have clocked you as out of place the moment he saw you, so I had to do a little disguising. The reason I chose Exit wasn't just because of the table. That air of superiority you sport is easier to hide in there,” he said. She was going to protest but stopped herself, he was goading her and was not going to give him what he wanted. After a pause he continued.

“That outfit matches the style of that bar but is cheaper than most. Those shoes aren’t particularly stylish but are easy to move quickly in. That drink I got you was overly extravagant and over-priced. It all added up so Yondran saw you as someone with inflated self-worth and looking to move up the social ladder. Which is ultimately harmless and easy to manipulate,” he said. He undid his tie and stuffed it in his coat pocket. He leaned back into the seat, becoming more comfortable as he spoke.

“Of course, the real reason you stand out is that you have much classier taste and were quite rightly disgusted by Exit as a whole,” he said. She mulled over his reasoning as she watched the world go by through the window. The occasional car whooshed passed her vision. It seemed like he put in a lot of effort for not much of an outcome.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before or use a different woman for this scheme of yours?” she said.

“I don't want more people involved than necessary. And Lucky needed to be distant and contemptuous, why would I tell someone to act that way when keeping you in the dark gave me the genuine article?” he said.

“Because if you keep me in the dark I’ll kick you to the curb. Now tell me what it is Yondran supposedly gave away,” she said.

“We can talk about that in the Cheshire,” he said, he sat up straight and stretched his shoulders out. “Now I want to know what you’re keeping from me. I’ve shown my dedication to this, waiting around in L-Corp for hours and using up some favours. You however, seem to be lacking commitment,” he said. She was taking aback by the accusation.

“I’m here aren’t I? I went along with your plan and might I remind you, you’re supposed to be working for me. Not the other way around,” she said.

“Sure, you’ve shown up, but you’ve been impatient at every turn. Too impatient. Alice told me she had an interest in Prometheus for his unique approach, but I think you’re in this for entirely different reasons. Reasons I need to know more about,” he said.

“That's a bold and rather baseless claim, I’m still not convinced your help is worth my time at all,” she said. The leather scrunched as Monarch leaned back even further back in his seat. He stretched his legs and a more relaxed expression found its way to his face.

“Things are getting far too tense for my liking. I tell you what, when we get to the Cheshire I’ll say what I learned from Yondran in that little exchange, if you let me ask my questions,” he said.

“Why not now?” she asked.

“I get the feeling alcohol is going to help this situation a lot, besides you promised to be less serious all the time,” he said. It was potentially free information and a line of questioning on his end that would end up showing she had nothing to hide.

“Fine, but one more strike and you’re out,” she said.

“That’s not less serious, Lena. This arguing thing you're determined to keep up is getting boring,” he said.

“You might be used to operating fast and loose, but I’m not one for needless mucking about,” she said. Monarch smirked, it seemed he had flipped a switch and was relentlessly laid back about everything again.

“The mucking about is the fun part. Besides leads don’t just drop into your lap. The whistle-blowers and signs saying “Prometheus was here” don’t show up unless we do some mucking about. It’s the same kind of legwork you have to put in for your job,” he said.

“I thought all I did was browse for yachts?” she said.

“Yeah, then you called me out on it. It comes full circle,” he said. The car drew to a stop. Monarch got out and held the door open for her.

“If you will, my lady,” he said. Her curiosity trumped her annoyance. She wanted to see how he would spin the Yondran fiasco into real information. There was also a part of her that worried about why he thought she was being dishonest.


	19. Motives

The Cheshire was just as unassuming as she remembered, she was strangely happy to see it. There was an honesty to it that Exit and a lot of other places she had visited lacked, no illusions or unnecessary extravagances. Monarch went and greeted the bartender. The pair at the pool table were playing away. Apart from them, they once again had the place to themselves. It was serene compared to the crowded bar and Monarch somehow managed to look even more relaxed. The warm ambience and the soundtrack only consisting of pool balls clattering was a pleasant contrast to the stylings of exit. Even being significantly smaller, the lack of a crowd made the place feel giant. Monarch went over to the booth she first saw him in, drinks in hand.

“Double whiskey on the rocks,” he said, placing it in front of her.

“You know, women aren’t impressed when you order for them,” she said as she took the seat.

“Who says I’m trying to impress you? I’m just nostalgic for a simpler time,” he said.

“That was yesterday, Monarch,” she said.

“A simpler time,” he said, diving into his drink. “So, let’s have a chat.” He said the words into the glass.

“Yondran first,” she said, he sighed.

“Such a stickler,” he took another gulp. “Yondran was the last piece of the puzzle for narrowing my search. He’s a benchmark that tells me Prometheus values moral standards over technical ability, that may be why one of those fire alarm systems failed,” he said. His body-language was far less hesitant than in the car.

“What if he did work for Prometheus, he wasn’t exactly forthcoming and could be playing you,” she said.

“Nah, if he worked for him he’d never have met with me in the first place. Jobs that draw that much attention require a certain amount of laying low. That’s not the crucial part though. When I mentioned contacts he outright said he had more than that, and then went on about his stature. To me that says Prometheus approached him. Clearly, it didn’t work out,” he said. Lena had already necked her drink and was catching on quickly.

“So, it’s a conflict of interest. Raising the office alarms before going ahead with the attack makes a bold plan even more complicated. Yondran might have backed out because unnecessary risk or wanting higher pay for needless complications,” she said, Monarch raised his glass to her with a slight nod.

“It’s a bit of a stretch, Monarch,” she said. He shrugged.

“Maybe, but it means I know who to look for. Mercs with a conscience and idealists with the expertise to take part in a very specific, city-wide attack is a very short list of people. Now here’s the part you’d like, as these people will all be laying low they aren’t gonna let themselves be found easily. We need something concrete to connect the people on this list. That way we can start pinning down meeting spots or hideouts,” he said.

“There’s a lot of assumptions here,” she said.

“If we find a connection, it won't matter” he said.

“Well the Daxamite weapon probably tipped Prometheus over the edge. Whatever was used to destroy the buildings must be pretty difficult to obtain and move around at such short notice,” she said.

“I like your thinking but that’s a no go. If I start digging around that level of weapon smuggling then they either go to ground completely... or they try and kill me,” he said.

“Fair enough, there’s only 50% chance of a positive outcome if we go that route. Bad odds,” she said. Monarch grinned and finished his drink. He then put his elbow on the table and leaned on his hand.

“We can work the technical stuff out tomorrow morning. What I want to know are the actual details for why you're here,” he said.

“Prometheus threatens me directly, publicly I might add, and you’re questioning why I’m here,” she said.

“You’re a Luthor, people threaten you all the time. You can’t hold a press conference without something exploding or someone getting shot. Usually you don’t miss a beat and ignore it, but then Prommy comes along and you get directly involved, with zero patience about it to boot,” he said.

“You do like jumping to conclusions don’t you,” she said.

“You don’t know this yet, but I’m usually right,” he said.

“Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it,” she said. Monarch shifted and leant on his other hand.

“You want to know something about me?” he said.

“Sure, why not?” She said, giving up on trying to follow his train of thought.

“I arrived in this city one day a totally new man, no I.D. or home to speak of. No idea who I was or what I was supposed to be doing. So I made up a name and just got on with life,” he said.

“You must have sort of real name. You need it for social security, health insurance, taxes, anything else official,” she said.

“Sure, I have a name for that stuff. But it’s no less real than Monarch or Horus,” he said.

“So what? You’re on some sort of quest to discover your past. Is Prometheus going to end up being your long lost son or something,” she said.

“No… well, it’s extremely unlikely. But whoever I was doesn’t matter. The point I’m trying to make is that as someone with no past, you start to notice how other people's past affects them. Almost everyone dwells way too much on things that have been and gone. More importantly, they take too long realise that what they want is right in front of them,” he said.

“That’s a lovely observation about the human condition,” she said, being increasingly baffled by this tangent of his. Monarch seemed to be irritated she was not picking up whatever he was putting down.

“What I’m saying is that there are more efficient ways to deal with whatever it is you and Danvers have going on,” he said. She leaned back in the seat and folded her arms. She had expected some sort of accusation about evil intent as part of a bizarre Luthor scheme. Monarch's face was deadly serious and he was gripping his glass intently. If he was playing one of his games, it was a new one. It was a line of enquiry she was unprepared for and for reasons she could not fathom, it made her feel nervous.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Lena said. His tendency to draw conclusions from very little had reached its height.

“You see, I want a word with Prometheus when all is said and done. So if you don’t actually care what happens to him in the end we’re going to have to work out something new. I don't want you screwing me over because Danvers thinks someone like me shouldn't be snooping around,” he said.

“I’m sorry, I feel like I’ve missed several… hundred steps here. What’s Kara got to do with any of this?” She said. He dropped his arm to the table with a thud and looked at her with a confused expression. He did not blink, looking like he was trying to read every detail on her face. Even as a pool cue clattered to the ground from across the bar, startling her, he remained focused.

“You don’t know you’re doing it do you?” he said quietly.

“Doing what, I am very much confused here,” she said.

“Ain’t that the truth,” he said, gesturing to Lew. “We’re going to need the special stuff.” Lew swung by and dropped off a label-less bottle with two intricate tumblers. Monarch thanked him and started pouring it into each of their glasses. The liquid was clear and unassuming.

“What am I looking at here?” She asked.

“Thanagarian Spirit. Clears the mind, opens the soul. This stuff is more inspirational than apples that fall from trees,” he said. She looked at him in a way that let him know he was being weirder than usual.

“What do you think Freddie Mercury was drinking when he wrote Bohemian Rhapsody?” He said.

“Do you listen to the things you say?” she said.

“A guy I worked with for a bit told me that one. Way into conspiracy theories, liked to wear fedoras, didn’t have a face,” he said, moving the bottle back and forth to accentuate his phrasing. “Anyway, let’s talk about Danvers.” She raised the tumbler and took a small sip, it felt like being kicked in the teeth and she recoiled from it. She blinked a few times as the brutal flavours worked their way down her tongue. Although after the initial assault it actually left a pleasant feeling. She looked at it, surprised at how such a tame looking liquid could be so ferocious.

“First sip’s always quite an experience. Now, what’s your deal with Danvers?” he said.

“Why does this matter to you again?” she said, studying the drink before taking another sip.

“It matters to you, you’re part of this investigation, ergo it matters to me,” he said.

“What has you so convinced she has anything to do with this?” She said.

“You’ve mentioned your reporter friend apropos of nothing more than once. Always highly complementary, implying you’re close. Yet, she’s nowhere to be seen when it comes to your Prometheus problem, Which you seem overly interested in. And let’s just say your face was quite the picture when I implied I knew who she was, then pulled the rug from under you,” he said.

“Well, we are… were close. What of it?” she said.

“There’s a story there. One that says you're doing this for her rather than yourself” he said.

“Yeah well it doesn't matter, she’s off chasing a story on Reign and that’s far more important than Prometheus right now,” she said. His eyes darted away briefly when she mentioned Reign.

“So why are you sitting here with a stranger trying to find him, instead of working with her on the more important stuff?” He said. She stopped, it was not something she wanted to talk about with him.

“This has you wound tight for some reason. You have to talk someone about that and I need to know why you’re so locked in on Prometheus when you couldn’t care less about him. I’d say talking to me is a win-win.” He took a large swig and plonked the glass down “And for all you know, I was therapist at one point in time.”

“For the sake of humanity, I hope that isn’t true,” she said, more of the spirit was gliding down her throat. Monarch did not budge from his intense look, there was something about it that put her more on edge.

“I miss her alright? Personal issues have driven us apart for the past few weeks,” she said.

“So just talk to her, don’t drag a perfectly good investigation down,” he said.

“It’s not that simple,” she said.

“When people say that, it usually is that simple,” he said. She finished off the spirit in her tumbler and refilled it, there was something compelling about it. Monarch was keeping up with her, seemingly going drink for drink.

“How do personal issues connect to willingness to parley with the likes of me?” He said.

“Look, she specifically asked me if I had anything on him. I didn't because I was busy saving my business assets,” she said. Monarch raised an eyebrow.

“Seems fair enough, I mean that pretty much directly combats what he was trying to do,” he said.

“That's not how she saw it, she accused me of caring more about my money than the people around me,” she said, she looked down into her drink. Her reflection was in the spirit, she got lost in it for a brief moment

“Maybe she's having a hard time, stressed out people say things they don't mean. Just let her be and she'll come to you when she's ready,” he said.

“She has been having a hard time… a really hard time, but she shut herself away and refused to talk to me about it,” she said.

“She probably just needs time, running after Prometheus won’t change that,” he said.

“I need her now,” she blurted out, she covered her mouth. It was something she meant to think instead of say. Monarch seemed surprised by the outburst and she could see he was holding back a comment or two. She felt compelled keep talking instead of listen to whatever it was he wanted to say.

“I’ve been going through some seriously rough times recently, doubting myself at every turn. A couple of nights ago…” she started rubbing her neck, the darkened vision and that image of Reign creeping back. She shook her head to bring herself back to the room, Monarch was not the one to tell about those anxieties. “I've confided in her for everything, she’s the sole reason I’ve got through hell and back on multiple occasions. Now that version of her seems to be gone and there’s nothing I can do about it.” She watched Monarch stop and absorb the words she spouted at him. After some deliberation he spoke up.

“It sounds to me like you pour out your heart and soul to her, and you can’t handle the fact that she doesn’t reciprocate,” he said.

“I…” she was at a loss for words. She picked up her glass and worked her way through the rest of the spirit in one go, then filled back up to the brim. Monarch’s eyes widened at the amount of spirit she was going through.

“I feel like that resonated,” he said. She started to think it was her fault, that it was her selfishness that put them in this position. Kara’s relentless optimism had finally taken a hit and she had made it worse by so badly wanting to be the one she needed.

“I even bought her company, shunted Cat Grant out of her life. That one was just a business decision but still…” she said, light-headedness was kicking in and her words were beginning to slur. That spirit was acting fast.

“Kara was friends with that lunatic?” he said. She looked through him, rocking slightly and wistfully thinking about the times Kara had been there for her. Picturing the numerous times in her office where Kara had comforted her and picked her up. She told herself she would always be there for her, but it turned out she just wanted her for herself. Monarch tapped her, breaking her out of her spiral.

“Lena, people rarely get this worked up over just anyone. Is this Prometheus thing some weird, roundabout way to express how you feel about her?” he said. He was trying to catch up with her with the spirit but seemed to be struggling. His words echoed in her ears, it was not even something she had considered. There was no-one else in her life like her, her assumption had always been these feelings were out of gratitude or an adoration that she was never able to give in a repressed childhood.

“She's not... I'm not...” she said. Her brain felt like it was overloading.

“Do you want something more from her than just friendship?” he said.

“I… don’t know,” she said. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Ugh, it’s like talking to a fifteen year-old. That’s a yes or no answer,” he said.

“Hey, you try growing up a Luthor and coming out emotionally healthy,” she said, in hindsight it was another thing she should have thought to herself instead of saying. It did not stop her drinking more.

“Whatever. Even if the answer is “I don’t know” you have to tell her how you feel. Otherwise you’ll just be another story of mine about someone who regretted not realising what they had,” he sounded sincere before he started talking again. “It also means my investigation will go much more smoothly.”

“That’s a hard no from me, things are already awkward enough between us right now,” she said. Now she was just going through the motions, unsure of what she wanted. Though an odd sensation of calmness seemed to work its way into her mind as she drank more, the overwhelming barrage of confused feelings gradually washing away. As her calmness set in, Monarch was fidgeting and seemed to be losing patience.

“Look, I’ll level with you. Whenever she’s mentioned you go all doe-eyed and pleasant, it’s really quite distracting. It also means she’ll figure you out sooner or later. If you tell her, you’ll find out she feels the same way or it’ll be awkward for a while but she’ll come to understand… probably. Bottling it all up will either make you feel worse or cause you to burst and do something dumb,” he said. He was catching up with her pace of drinking and tripped over some of the longer words.

“Pfft, I'm always pleasant. And what makes you the relationship expert anyway? Is there some unfortunate soul that calls you theirs?” she said. Monarch sighed loudly.

“I read people, it’s kind of my thing. And I am spoken for,” he said.

“Do they have several names as well?” She asked, nearly dropping her tumbler.

“Nope, it’s this life married too. No time for sex, drugs and… actually there is some rock and roll in there but that’s about it,” he said

“So you were being needlessly vague again,” she said.

“Also kind of my thing,” he said. He then folded his arms and looked at her. “So Kara’s not actually better at this than me then, you just like her,” he said.

“No, I genuinely think she’s better at this. One of these reporters you’d describe as illustrious or intrepid,” she said, impressed with herself at how clearly she got the words out in her state.

“I think that Thanagarian Spirit might be hitting you hard,” he said, pointing at a now empty bottle.

“She’s also much, much prettier than you,” she said, giggling to herself. She could feel her brain turning into mush, though it was fun to be messing with his apparent insecurity.

“Okay now I know it’s hit you hard because that is physically impossible,” he said. He saluted at Lew and stood up.

“We should go,” he said.

“But we just got here,” she said, now feeling a greater love for the Cheshire than ever.

“Check your watch, Thanagarian Spirit messes with your sense of time,” he said. She obliged and whilst it took a fair few seconds to be able focus on the hands, she saw it was approaching midnight.

“You call your driver or a cab or whatever,” he said.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’ll venture into the darkness outside and take whatever the world throws at me,” he said, pulling a dramatic pose.

“You’re a real oddball, you know that?” She said, struggling to press the correct combination of buttons on her phone. He laughed.

“Most people would call me something much worse than that,” he turned his attention away. “I’m going now, you’ve got a lot to think about and I’ve got to go pass out somewhere” he said. Walking out the door in an impressively straight line.


	20. Thoughts

She had only managed to get a few hours sleep before her busy mind forced her awake. She had given up on even trying back to sleep and gone to work instead. Her laptop had been on for fifteen minutes already but had yet to see any L-Corp business. The first thing she had done was open a picture she kept of her and Kara, she had spent her time staring at it.

For all that had happened, she expected last night to be blurrier, a series of thoughts she could put down to drink and altered judgement. Instead she sat there as every last detail remained clear in her mind. Monarch's wording was apt, cleared mind and opened soul. A dramatic statement to be sure, but more and more it felt like it rang true.

She was happy when the picture was taken. There was nothing out of the ordinary going on at the time, she just remembered wanting the picture of the two of them together at that moment. Despite the mundaneness of the circumstances surrounding it, it had always felt special in some way. Until now she had given it no extra thought. Simply being with Kara that day brought such a good feeling and she wanted some sort of record of it, a nice moment between friends. However, after the chat with Monarch it felt like it may have meant more to her than she realised.

She pulled her gaze away from the photo and looked out into her office, right at the spot where she first saw her. Clark Kent had come to see her and brought a tag-along. It was just another determined yet mostly unremarkable person who ended up in front of her. This outlook promptly disappeared as Kara came through for her again and again. A new, unassuming reporter championing the defence for the disgraced Luthor name. Their resulting friendship had been unexpected but welcome. A free pass into the world of media and someone nice to spend time with. Though it took time, Kara wore down the hard-wired suspicion she used to stick too without question. A relationship with no angle to be worked or no strings attached, one that brought forward a caring side of her that she had always thought needed hiding.

She shut the laptop lid, it was embarrassing that she had become so dependent on someone else. She always prided herself on her ability to forge her own path, not even the Luthor name had held her back. She had been an unstoppable force crushing any obstacle on her road to success. Yet here she was, rendered stoppable from the absence of some girl. Life before Kara was so much simpler. Clear goals to strive for, few distractions or remorse to speak of. Whilst her work ethic had remained the same, Kara had inadvertently altered her view of success. It was no longer a case of just striving to be the top of her game, but also to be a better person along the way. It was a feat no-one else had managed. Previous relationships had meant a lot to her, but they were always secondary to her goals. Kara was the only that fully changed that dynamic, knocking back her relentless pursuit of success and shielding her from the dark paths that presented themselves along the way. She could easily recall times where she wanted to put her head down and got on with things, only to end up sitting opposite her instead. Now she was looking at it all clearly, the decision to buy out CatCo seemed like her old motivations seeping through. A decision made in the absence of Kara to drive and expand her influence without consideration of the emotional consequences. It was not a decision she regretted, but perhaps something she could have been more careful with.

What made it all worse was how Monarch's words had stuck with her. This loathsome dependence seemed to be the reason she had been so hard on both herself and Kara recently. It also meant the real question was where to go from here. Her inability to process any of kind of positive emotion was frustrating. Talking about this with Kara would be hard if she barely understood it herself. Even if she could express whatever her feelings were, it could still be a bad idea. She would recover if she drove Kara away, she always recovered no matter the circumstances. Knowing this did not stop a fear of a looming emptiness without her. 

There were other factors at play in her head as well. If all she had done was cling on to the first person who had offered her true friendship, there was a strong chance she misunderstood what all of this meant. Worse, if she did go further with Kara there was a nagging thought that any feeling she had would dissipate as the true nature of her sociopathic lineage would emerge. She may want to discard Kara after expending a limited capacity to love. She slumped in her chair, one thing she was sure of was that a distinct lack of social maturity was inflating everything to ridiculous proportions in her head. She was so far out of her depth that the advice of a man who would not even settle on a single name seemed wise. 

Despite the laptop being shut, she could still see that photo so clearly in her mind. The two of them together, it seemed so simple yet so outlandish at the same time.

She sighed, all of this was moot for now. Kara had her own problems to deal with and there were more pressing issues at hand. Although at this point her motivation for pursuing Prometheus had also been muddied, she still felt the need to finish what she started. The fact Monarch had revealed how eager he was to talk to Prometheus seemed significant, but trying to make sense out of that man seemed like a puzzle beyond anyone's capabilities, even hers. Whatever his motivations were, they did not matter anymore. His quirky nature had endeared itself to her, or maybe the Thanagarian spirit had not fully worn off yet. It would explain the lack of a hangover. Either way she found herself putting faith in a man who had done little to earn it apart from seeming genuine in his own odd way. She had faith in others, it was another thing that was probably Kara's fault.

There was an idea she had on how to track Prometheus, it had not occurred to her at the time as she was busy pursuing Monarch's thoughts. She punched in the numbers from what could only be called a business card if you were feeling generous. She listened to it ring for a long time, just as she was about to give up, a gravelly voiced Monarch answered.

“Ugh,” was all she got out of him.

“Hello to you too, Monarch,” she said. This was followed by more disgruntled noises.

“It's like 6am, most people's emotional crises take at least 12 hours,” he said, speaking quietly.

“Would you like me to apologise for my personal problems not aligning with your schedule?” She said.

“Yeah, that'd be nice,” he said. She had to concentrate hard to make out what he was saying from that quiet, gravelly voice.

“Well, I'm not going too,” she said.

“You're so mean,” he said, still speaking quietly. She did not want have to keep putting up with this.

“I can barely hear you, where even are you?” she said.

“I'm in... er...” there was a rustling sound, as if he was now on the move, “someone else's apartment apparently.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Just some rock and roll, he tells me,” she said.

“Get your head out of the gutter, I was on a sofa,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” she said.

“Is this call just to taunt me or is there a good reason I'm not still asleep right now?” he said.

“I think I got what we need to track people on that list of yours,” she said.

“You've already sorted the Danvers thing?” he asked.

“Not even remotely, but I won't stand in your way when we first find him. I promise you that,” she said.

“Fine, whatever. Just tell me what you have so I can go back to sleeping on that mysterious sofa,” he said. She opened her desk drawer and examined a grey shard.

“I've got pieces of his armour, that suit of his has got to be made out of some seriously expensive materials. By itself it’s probably useless, but If he built or brought it in National City or is repairing it now, we're talking about very niche, specialist equipment and resources moving about. I’m going to guess that’s difficult to do discreetly and that you know a thing or two about how one would keep such things low profile,” she said.

“Hmm... I would know that. Though it could just be a glorified Halloween costume for show. Made of cheap plastic and superglue,” he said.

“No, I saw him take a full force punch from Reign herself. This stuff is only slightly under par for a Kryptonian,” she said.

“I can work with that,” his voice seemed to have picked up, there was a sudden energy about it. “So you saw Reign up close?”

“More than that,” she said, her neck started to itch. “I knew her before she turned into that monster.” There was no answer. She listened close but there was nothing, no breathing or movement from the other end. She pulled the phone away to check if the call was still going. Nothing seemed to be out of order.

“Monarch?” she said.

“Still here, sorry. Was just exploring this place a bit. I'll be over as soon as I can to go through this armour stuff of yours,” he said.

“When will that be?” she asked.

“That'll depend on whether I broke into this place or convinced whoever lives here to let me stay. For the life of me I don't remember which,” he said.

“Right, well I'll probably still be in my office whenever you sort that out,” she said.

“Got it,” he said, hanging up. She tossed the phone down, it sounded like Monarch would arrive later rather than sooner. It was not the wisest strategy to assume he was there was no foul play on his end. She found herself not caring, trusting herself to know when to cut ties should problems arise.

She spun in her chair to take in a view of the city behind her, it tended to ease her mind. Though looking through the window she could see some sort of speck in the distance. A speck that was getting bigger. Her mind froze as she realised the something was a someone. Her throat closed up as the fast approaching someone was dressed in black. She wanted to run but her legs refused to co-operate, her hands shook as she looked on wide-eyed at the figure of Reign closing in. She landed on the balcony. There was no sign she was being followed. Supergirl had not been sighted since her last fight with Reign. She hoped with every fibre of her being that someone would come along to help. She would even be relieved to see Prometheus, but it looked to be that she was on her own. Reign strolled in, she was wearing a mask this time. It had intricate patterns and covered most of her face. Her skin was much paler than before, it had turned a deathly white. Lena wanted to ask what had happened, to try and appeal to Sam if she still had any semblance of control. However, all she could do was look away, hold her neck and mutter to herself to breathe. The blurry vision and forced breathing made it difficult to concentrate on anything else in the room. Reign seemed amused by this display.

“Seems I left a lasting impression,” she said. Lena ignored her, focusing what little energy she had on trying to get a hold of herself. She could hear the rational part of her brain telling her to calm down, that she would be alright. It was a voice she tried to single out through her panicking. Reign looked on.

“A rather different show to the time we last met,” she said. Lena mustered the courage to look at her whilst it was mostly covered, she could still see the face of the one that nearly killed her. Lena held her neck, forcing herself to breath was painful through her closing throat and sounded more like intermittent gasping.

“I'm not going to hurt you unless you give me a reason,” she said. Lena's fears and anxieties were refusing to subside. She managed a slight nod to indicate some sort of understanding.

“I've been flying around Metropolis, trying to get my hands on your brother,” she said, looking to her. She carried on soon after, realising she would not get much of a response out of her. “Superman and the Martian aren't letting up. They're also keeping Lex on the move and protected, seems they're one step ahead of me in that regard. I can't go about fixing this world and bringing in order whilst they still live, but whilst they work together I can't end them alone. So, I figured if reinforcements are slow and I can't get a hold of Lex to solve this little problem of mine, I'd get hold of you instead,” she said. Lena's shaking hand lowered from her neck. She had to heave out her words one by one.

“I won't help you,” she said. This fear of hers might have her down, but she would not let it compromise who she was. Reign's amusement at the situation disappeared instantly.

“You seem to think you have a choice in the matter,” she said, approaching her. Lena had to work hard to push through these mental blocks of hers. She strung together simple sentences in her mind and heaved out more words.

“Ruby was here. She misses you,” she said.

A brief hesitation from Reign ended with glowing eyes and gritted teeth. She rushed up and grabbed Lena by the neck, then threw her across the room. Lena yelled out in pain as she slammed against the shelves and bounced off to the ground. A shock went through her body as she landed hard on her knee. She sucked air through her teeth as she turned herself onto her back. Reign was walking towards her slowly. Lena was frantically shuffled back on her elbows until she was backed up against the wall.

“Don't try to manipulate me,” Reign said, eyes still glowing. “You're valuable, but still expendable. Now get up and do as I say.”

Lena's whole body was in pain, her breathing was still laboured. She could feel the bruises on her neck were aggravated and swelling. The need to appease this all-powerful murderer was being screamed around her mind and everything felt like too much to bear. Though through all of it, the failures of her body and the cacophony of anxieties, there was an iota of clarity. She grasped at it with all the mental fortitude she possessed to bring it to light. Her breathing became more rhythmic, the pain remained but stopped mattering to her. It took everything she had to push through, but there was a strength inside her that was just enough to deal with it all in the way she wanted. She stayed on the floor and with an unblinking glare, she spoke to Reign

“Go to hell,” Lena said. Reign's nostrils flared,

“You'd be unwise to...” she stopped speaking with an unexpected halt. Reign's eyes darted around the room with confusion. Lena was unsure if she had missed whatever brought out Reign's state of confused silence. A silence that was broken by a loud crash. Reign had vanished. There was a hole in the wall from behind where she had been standing, bricks and debris had burst out of it. Lena had felt something thunder by but was struggling to process what had happened. She tried to get to her feet, only managing to stand a few seconds before falling to her knees again. Even though it was a short exchange, it had been exhausting. She managed to adjust herself to a position to look out the second hole behind her. Whatever it was had crashed through from behind Reign and taken her with it. She peered through, though it was hard to tell she thought she caught a glimpse of a red streak flying far in the distance.


	21. Bloodbath

There was a stinging in her eyes and loud beat in her chest. Before even bothering to register her surroundings, she replayed the image of Reign's beams cutting off her sister's arms over and over. There was no clearer goal than to exact retribution. The need for random destruction was fading as that singular task began to focus her. As the moments passed, she was becoming more aware, able to branch her thoughts further out than inflicting pain on her adversary.

It felt like she was sinking, she certainly was not breathing. When she noticed this a red aura surrounded her. The stinging in her eyes stopped and she realised she was in some sort of pool. She had no interest in diving further so shot herself upward, releasing torrents around her as she burst out. The liquid hissed and evaporated on this red glow of hers, this aura faded away and as she became more aware of her surroundings it was clear this had been a pool of blood.

Her fists were clenched, she quietly growled with each breath as she felt fire coursing through her veins. There was a constant white-noise in her ears, as if a chorus of angry screaming and yelling had a direct connection to her soul.

As clarity fully returned to her sight and a mustiness in the air filled her mouth, she could tell that she was definitely no longer in National City. A barren waste of rocks and many more blood-pools stretched out as far as the eye could see. She had no clue as to how she got here, the last thing she remembered was reaching out for a ring. Looking down to her hand she saw it was still there. It had a symbol on it, circular with jagged lines on each side. The same symbol she now seemed to don on her chest. The House of El was gone, the whole suit was now red and black. She did not want this symbol and before her eyes it began to shift. The crest appeared but the ring's pattern stayed superimposed over the S-shaped design, her house’s symbol quickly fading back into black and leaving nothing but this new crest.

She looked to the darkened sky, Reign was far from here. She could sense her, the constant screaming in her ears was willing her on to find and end her. As she was piecing together her fractured psyche, a host of creatures and monsters approached. There was a wealth of inhuman shapes and sizes amongst them. Whilst some were humanoid there was also a large group of the most alien creatures she had ever seen. Some had tentacles and horns. One looked like a giant brain whilst another was spherical with stumpy arms and legs. Despite this variety of species there was one thing they all shared, each also had a red power-ring and every one of them bore the same black and red colour scheme she was now wearing, along with the symbol that refused to leave her chest.

“Why have you brought me here?” she spat out the words at anyone who would listen. The crowd seemed mildly amused at the question.

“Answer me,” she said, close to erupting. From the back of this gathering, one started floating forward. His large size and red skin made him stand out. The others cleared out of his path, giving him a wide berth out of reverence or fear. Each one going quiet as he passed them. This creature had an intimidating presence. She could feel the essence of his rage bursting out of him, it seemed to fuel her own. The boiling in her blood growing ever-stronger by merely looking at him.

“I did not bring you here.” His voice was deep and booming. Razor-sharp teeth flashed as he spoke.

“Explain yourself,” she said, snarling the words at him.

“Your ring would have drawn you here when you accepted its call,” The creature said. She still had no memory of what happened after it presented itself, just that inkling of an instinct that she had to leave.

“Where is here?” she said.

“Ysmault. Home-world of the Red Lanterns,” he said. More Lanterns, she had no interest in dealing with them any further. Only the image of Reign burned in her mind. She looked to the sky again, she could not explain it but an animalistic instinct inside her knew how to get back to Earth and find her.

“You will not leave,” the creature said.

“I’ll do what I want,” she said.

“You are part of the Red Lantern Corps now. My Red Lantern Corps,” he said.

“I don't care who you are or what this is, I'm leaving,” her rage was reaching boiling point. She could not allow whoever this was to stand in between her and Reign.

“I am Atrocitus, you will learn to revere that name,” he said. It meant nothing to her, it would remain that way.

“You won't stop me,” she said. She flew upward, following that instinctive path. Her flight was interrupted, she looked down. The claw-like nails of Atrocitus' hand had pierced into her leg. After a smug growl he swung her ground-wards with significant force. She hit the rocks below with a crash. There was no pain, only a desire to retaliate. Not even a second had passed before she launched herself at him. The acceleration, the speed, the power. It was like nothing she had ever experienced. With no intention of holding this back she struck Atrocitus, sending him flying away uncontrollably. She looked at the ring, feeling that burning in her veins and the thundering drumbeat of her heart. It was fuelling her, feeding her power to a whole new degree.

Atrocitus managed to steady himself, letting out a cacophonous battle-cry. A blow that would have outright destroyed most only seemed to have made him angrier. He came for her, she flew to meet him, the wayward cape flapped behind her before the tremendous clash. A strong red glow around him seemed to have absorbed most of her impact. He remained in place whilst she crumpled backwards, the wind being knocked out of her as she clattered through a rock formation jutting from the ground. She managed to stop her trajectory dead before hitting anything else, the debris burst out and pattered over her. Despite the heightened speed she felt in full control. She looked back to rip off the cape as all it was doing was slowing her down. However, before she could it vanished, somehow absorbed into her Red Lantern suit. When she looked back at her opponent she saw red energy blasts ripping through the air toward her. The first hit her before she could react. Feeling the force of it and tasting blood in her mouth only exhilarated her. She clenched her fists, feeling the ring as part of her. The red shielding aura from earlier surrounded her once more and absorbed most of the following blast's impacts. A twitch of a grin hit the corner of her mouth before yelling out and unleashing her heat vision. The beams were devastating, covering a huge arc in front of her. They crackled with energy as they laid waste to everything in their path. Rocks melted away, pools of blood evaporated in an instant. A couple of unprepared Lanterns screamed out in pain as they were caught in the destructive cone. Atrocitus himself was the only thing that could stand this onslaught. He took the brunt of it on his forearms, shielded by his own red aura. He was advancing through it, pushing against the tide of raw power coming from her eyes. It was difficult, but through the pain she managed to slowly refine the beams, drilling them into her opponent with as much malice as she could throw his way. Atrocitus slowed down but his advance continued. 

It was becoming too much to control, the burning in her own eyes was reaching a level she could not keep bearing. The beams finally burned themselves out and her eyes gave up on her. Atrocitus shook himself off, there was a moment of pause as the two of them took in the extent of the damage. Even through extensively blurred vision she could see everything in front of her had melted away, leaving a swathe of destruction on the planet’s surface. A shallow canyon had formed where the beams had extended through the planet’s surface, the blood from surrounding pools started to pour into it. The onlookers that had been caught by it had fallen to the ground twitching and screaming in pain at their burned flesh. None went to their aid.

Atrocitus’ scowl somehow grew as he took in the devastation, he turned back to her and their eyes met. She could feel that anger even stronger as the piercing gaze set her booming heart into a frenzy. They launched at each other, sending shockwaves through the air as sonic booms thundered across the barren wastes. Atrocitus landed huge swings as they clashed together. Pain shot through her body as his over-sized hands bashed into her, but she held her ground. Blow after blow landed but the shielding from the ring and the driving force of her rage kept her upright. She welcomed this beating, letting the pain fight for her as she stood there. Although her vision was still obscured, it would not stop her. Between another of Atrocitus' punches she launched her counter-attack, unleashing a flurry at lightning speed to Atrocitus' body, relying on that spirit of anger he exuded to home in on her target. It was wearing him down punch by punch. She refused to relent, her roar getting louder as her punches hit harder and faster. For all his power and strength, Atrocitus was beginning to waiver. She was sure he was unprepared for an opponent such as her. She stopped punching, put her fists to her side, jumped up to his height, arched her head back and brought the base of her skull forward with all her might to the top of his toothy maw. Remarkably his teeth remained intact, but the monster crashed hard into the ground. The weight and force cracking into the surface with ease

Her vision had remained blurred throughout out all of this, she finally wiped at her eyes. A sharp pain burned on her hands. It was bubbling blood she had wiped away. There was a shocked silence amongst the other Lanterns, who had made no attempt to intervene in this brawl. The silence did not last long as it was only a moment before Atrocitus burst out from the crater and appeared in front of her. Though he had caught her off-guard and had the upper hand, he had chosen simply to square up to her. She was tiny compared to him, she could see his dominant figure dwarf her now he was so close. Spurred on by the screaming and searing pain she squared even closer, meeting his posturing only inches away from his face. She could feel the heat from his breath. She stared into his glowing yellow eyes and snarled at him

“You are not the challenger you think you are,” he said, bearing that array of sharp teeth. Before she could respond he punched her square in the chest. It sent her sailing back like a rag-doll, bouncing along the floor as she went. When she stopped, she quickly sprung to her feet. Her rage continued to build, blood was still seeping from her eyes. This monster was standing between her and her goal, once again the screaming voices and drumbeat of her heart urged her to finish this. This was a fight Atrocitus would never pull out of, that much she could sense from him. She needed something to stop him, her fists were not enough for such an unrelentingly tough opponent.

Time seemed to slow, Atrocitus was launching himself at her again. She looked at her ring, then to him. She flew at him this time knowing full well what to do, she could feel it within herself. As the two of them hurtled towards each other Atrocitus lurched forward and released more energy blasts from his ring. Kara let the shielding do its work, taking the hits directly. Whilst she fought through them she pulled her arms back and with a flash a large, red war-hammer materialised in her hands. She could see the moment of shock in his face before they met and she swung up at his chin. The momentum and strength upper-cutted him into the sky. Using the split-second acceleration, she overtook his trajectory. Raising the hammer over her head and slamming him back down to the ground with it. A boom resounded across the battered plains, what was left of the landscape was shattered even further by Atrocitus' fall. He was struggling, but still moving. There was no place for mercy or respite here. She flipped the hammer around, the head facing ground-ward. The air heated up around the hammerhead as she dropped, flames surrounded the bottom of it as she brought it down onto the skull of the weary Atrocitus. Another boom echoed across the plains. The impact sent ripples into the canyon and across the remaining pits of blood.

Kara stood over her motionless opponent, her whole body moving up and down with her heavy breathing. He was defeated, but still alive, she could still feel that enraging aura from him. The hammer she wielded was pulsating with energy, unlike the green counterpart it was unstable and sparked wayward bolts of red light. It dissipated back into her ring as she slowly turned to the other Red Lanterns.

“Anyone else?” she said through gritted teeth. There was a mixed reaction to her triumph. Most seemed worried or neutral, though she did spot a blue skinned woman with a wry grin on her face. None of them had anything to say to her. She heard the pained whimpers of the Red Lanterns caught in the crossfire, they were still writhing on the ground. There were also hushed whispers amongst themselves, she picked up the word “construct” several times. She did not care, with no-one coming forward to oppose her she could find her real target.

That singular drive guided her as she hurtled through the emptiness of space. Only that instinct and the screaming voices accompanied her on the journey back to Earth. Any sense of time had been cast from her mind, it did not matter. She flew on until she saw that blue and green marble, drawn ever closer to her target when she breached the atmosphere.

She stopped her flight, hovering high above National City. The streets were relatively quiet, it was early in the day. She could sense Reign nearby. Her eyes were drawn to the far-off L-Corp building, it seemed fitting that Reign was in the same place she first revealed herself. Lena was backed up against a wall with Reign looming above her. She looked completely different, but the screaming voices confirmed to her that it was Reign in that office.

“Reign,” Kara bellowed out the name as that same anger she felt on Ysmault surfaced. She could see Reign's super-hearing had picked it up. It pleased her, Reign could hear the voice of her reckoning. All Kara's other senses shut down. Only the beating of her heart and the blood boiling in her veins made themselves known as she fired herself toward her victim.


	22. Retribution

She felt nothing as she charged through the walls. Reign lurched back as Kara grabbed her from behind. She swooped down and planted Reign's face into the tarmac whilst speeding along. It left a trail of chaos as the road parted where she was dragged, the oncoming traffic beeped and swerved as this red blur rocketed through. Reign managed to react quickly after the initial shock, lifting her head from the road and gracefully spinning off to Kara's back. She felt some strain as Reign was now trying to push her head down to administer the same punishment. Kara's neck remained firm, her nose inches from the ground as they continued racing through the city. With a snarl she threw her elbow backward, it connected with Reign's temple. As she reeled from the hit, Kara took the opportunity to spin and face her. She grabbed Reign and flipped back, throwing her full force through a nearby building. Using that momentum, Kara then flipped right-side up and came to an immediate stop.

She listened out, her eyeline was drawn to where Reign had been thrown by the vengeful voices in her mind. As soon as Reign flew back into view, the thumping of her heart loudened. Reign brushed debris off her face.

“Back for more? A cheap shot and a new costume...” this was as far into the sentence she allowed Reign to get before attacking again. With her acceleration she had already thrown a savage punch to Reign's jaw before she could get to the next word. Kara stopped and watched the aftermath of the attack, it had sent Reign flailing into the sky. She breathed heavily, that incessant need for retribution only growing stronger with each passing second.

She rifled upward and grabbed Reign as she was flung back. Kara held her in place, crushing the World-Killer symbol with her hand as she gripped Reign's suit. With her free hand she punched her, deep down feeling the damage it did. With her x-ray vision she could see a minor fracture in the cheek bone. She waited before punching again, savouring every moment whilst the voices screamed in her ears for more. The next strike cracked the bone further and Reign's head was whipped to the side violently by the power of it. The rush she felt as her fist met its mark was glorious. She embraced the burning pain circulating around her body.

She went for another punch, but this time Reign managed to catch the fist. They held this deadlock, staring at each other with renewed hatred. Kara then smiled, Reign's strength was nothing to her now. She effortlessly yanked her fist back, with Reign attempting to block her face, Kara aimed the punch at her kidney. Reign failed to even yell out in pain as all the air rushed out of her body. Kara looked into her eyes, the defiance quickly changing to an unmistakable twinge of fear. Still unsatisfied, Kara went for another punch. As she pulled her fist back Reign's expression hardened. Heat vision beams shots from her eyes, firing straight into Kara's face. The mild warmth scratched at her, the shielding and driving force of her rage relegated this once deadly threat into a mere nuisance. She slowly brought her hand in to block the beams from her face. She barely even felt the beam as she pushed her hand down over Reign's eyes, shutting them down at their source. Reign winced as her beams were forcefully brought to this halt. Kara hovered there, still holding Reign in place and covering her eyes. She contemplated what to do next. Responding in kind with her own heat vision was a possibility, but it felt too distant. She wanted to see and feel everything she did to Reign. Her eyes focused on her ring, Atrocitus had shot energy from his and the beating of her heart almost seemed to be beckoning her to do the same. Her knuckles touched the World-Killer crest as she pulled her hand from Reign's eyes and pressed her fist against Reigns chest. Whilst she did this, Reign was throwing punches and firing more beams at her. Kara let it happen, shrugging it off easily. Kara wanted her to feel the helplessness her victims did, that same helplessness she had felt herself when Alex went down. Reign's defiance continued, but it was to no avail. Unable to break free and coming to the realisation her hitting was achieving nothing, she stopped.

“Go on then, finish this,” Reign said, determined to remain defiant. Kara took her time, savouring Reign’s failed attempts at hiding her fear. She allowed the combination of exhilaration and anger to circulate through her body like a salve for the soul. Her ring glowed to its brightest before unleashing the volley at point blank range. She held Reign in place as the continuous blasts fired. A searing pain engulfed her own hand but it was worth it. She could feel Reign's body lurching with each blast, her resistance and spirit fading as more rattled into to her. Reign's rasping breath cut through the screaming voices like music to her ears. Kara fired one last round as she let her go, sending Reign's limp body tumbling to the city below. Kara closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose. The fight had been knocked out of Reign so easily, part of her longed for a more violent encounter. A harder fought failure for Reign would have been all the more satisfying.

She drifted down to the pathetic sight of her spluttering on the ground. Kara landed beside her and put her boot on her skull, gradually increasing the pressure and ignoring the pained sounds as she thought to herself. At this point she was torn, Reign hardly seemed worth putting down, but her blood continued to boil as she gazed upon the woman who hurt her sister so badly. That scene played in her head, where her shoulder jerked back and she heard Alex's scream. She yelled out at the same time that scream entered her thoughts. The boiling and burning in her blood came to a precipice as she continued to roar out. A flood of thick red plasma burst from her mouth and without even thinking she stepped back and aimed it at the helpless Reign. When it stopped, she watched this liquid melt through the surrounding tarmac with ease and it chewed away at the bright white skin of her victim. Reign barely even had the strength to react, quietly writhing and squirming as the liquid fizzed on her skin. Kara was unable to keep her eyes off this display. A faint buzzing made its way to her ears passed the screaming voices and drumbeat of her heart. She ignored it, staying in this trance until a chilling breeze blew over Reign. The ice that crystallised on her own legs melted away and evaporated immediately.

Her eyes snapped up to the source as the partially relieved Reign was enough to surge her anger again. Kal was standing in front of her, the iconic red and blue suit shining out from the dim streets.

“Supergirl? What are you doing, she's needs help?” he said. His sense of urgency reflected by the fact he had not asked about her or the change in look. The voices shouted out in her head. The white noise roughly honing her thoughts, telling her Kal was valuing her enemies over her, just like he did on Oa. She stepped forward, placing her foot on Reign's neck.

“I'm not done with her,” she said, wiping the remaining plasma from her mouth. He could only muster a look of disbelief through his shock.

“She's dying,” he said. Kara looked down at the woman under her boot, her expression was one of terror and confusion. Clearly, she was not so tough without the upper hand.

“What are you doing here, Superman? I have this handled,” she said.

“There were reports that Reign was sighted in National City and got here as fast as I could. Then I see you in this position, I should ask you what you're doing,” he said.

“What's...” Reign tried to speak but Kara pressed her foot down harder, choking her words off. Kal's self-righteousness and showing up now of all times dredged up more rage in her. Afterall, he was not guiltless in her turmoil either.

“Retribution is what I'm doing. What's the term, eye for an eye?” she said. A crackling red blade materialised from her ring. It started at her wrist, stretching out to a long, razor-sharp point. She placed at the top of Reign's right arm.

“I can't let you do this,” he said. The voices had quietened, she felt more control of her actions. It was less frenzied, but her anger and the insatiable urge to right what had been wronged persisted. She let out a single laugh as it came to her.

“I'll tell you what Superman. You can either let me do this and after that, you can have her. Or you can try to stop me, all the while risking her bleeding out and dying right here whilst we fight,” she said. Kal narrowed his eyes.

“What's the matter? No-one else around to make the hard choice whilst you fly away and look for an option to keep your conscience clear,” she said. His shoulders slumped.

“If you have an issue with me, don't take it out on her,” he said, his voice was quiet and there was a begging tone to it. She gently started pushing the blade in, there was a lot of resistance, but she could feel it cutting through. Reign was unable to move as she gritted her teeth and tried to wretch with Kara's foot on her neck. She stopped once she pierced the skin.

“Make your choice,” she said. His eyes darted between the blade and her. She could see he was at a total loss. She felt a wave of satisfaction as he sighed and stepped back.

“I thought I'd be happy when I saw you safe…” he said. Kara wordlessly pushed the blade down hard, parting Reign's right arm from her body. She lifted her foot from her neck. Barely conscious and with tears in her eyes, Reign rolled over and laboriously clawed for her dismembered arm. Kara blasted it with her concentrated heat vision, melting it away before her eyes. Reign's head slumped to the ground after watching her arm disappear into nothing. Kara then wiped the blood from her eyes and stared Kal down. He picked up Reign, who sobbed softly as she curled into him and uttered the word “Ruby.”

“I'm going to give you the help you need,” he said to her. He hovered off the ground.

“Unhappy? I thought there was always another way,” Kara said. Kal shook his head and flew off. The streets were empty, she looked around at the collateral damage. There were numerous tears in the road and abandoned cars, some still had engines running. Apart from a few braver souls starting to poke their heads out now the commotion had stopped, she was alone with her thoughts. The nagging voices and her heartbeat's pulse were the quietest they had been.

The scared faces and destruction jogged a part of her that she had forgotten. She had to reassure herself that Reign and Kal got what they deserved. Vengeance had called out to her and she answered, but that inkling of her old self started to question it. The realisation of the horror she had just inflicted on them hit her hard. She struggled to dismiss this thinking, justifying it had been a mercy to even let Reign live at all. The satisfaction she had felt had faded and the clarity of thought she had on Ysmault was gone. At the time it seemed so simple, she had done what was necessary, what was right. The fire in her veins was welling up again and the immense pain coursed through her. She held her head in her hands as the conflicting views battled away in her mind. She groaned and bit down on her lip to try and contain herself. There was murmuring and more people starting to gather from their hiding places. It was time to leave, she had to try and clear up these colliding thoughts in private.


	23. Reflection

She gazed at her reflection, standing there looking at the Lantern symbol and dark colour scheme. Somehow her uniform had changed. The cape was still nowhere to be seen and her skirt was gone, replaced by trousers that seamlessly blended into her boots. Any hint of blue and gold was gone, replaced primarily with black. It accentuated the bold red of the symbol on her chest, her boots and long gloves. She could feel this new suit as an extension of herself, coursing with power stemming from the ring.

This power pulsed through her with ferocity. With it she had easily dealt with one of the most powerful foes she had ever faced in a matter of minutes. She could picture herself defending the Earth so much more effectively, she would be unstoppable. Even the full might of the Daxamite fleet would have been no threat, being this powerful could save a lot of lives. Yet despite this, she saw a sullen expression looking back at her. What she had done to Reign after their fight, the unnecessary brutality of it just to spite her and Kal did not sit right. Not only had she wanted to do it in the first place but that inkling of remorse she felt had already begun to fade. There was an inexplicable high she got from her actions, from knowing she had got back at Reign and shining a light on Kal’s flaws. Still that sullen face. She felt ashamed to be thinking this way, revelling in the pain of others and wanting to continue doing so.

Everything before it was hazy to her and already fading. She shifted in her spot in front of the mirror and looked directly at the Red Power Ring. It glowed faintly at her, twinkling in the mirror. It had to be responsible for that burning pain and screaming voices. The things she could achieve with it and the high she felt drew her in. Out of everyone, it had chosen her. It almost seemed like a duty to use it. Self-sacrifice was part of the job, giving over a part of herself to protect what she held dear. The question that irked her though was what it was that she valued. The way Reign had sobbed made no difference to her, whether deep down this was what how she always wanted to act or if the ring was responsible nagged at her soul.

Despite this doubt, she could sense more elements of control returning to her. The blind fury she felt on Ysmault had gone and the fact she was now questioning her actions gave her the hope she could exert more control over the ring. It led her to wander if she could ever control it fully or whether the ring itself was the driving force to her actions. Another life-changing decision seemed to have been dropped in her lap. Another case of risking lives and collateral damage in the name of the greater good. At least this time it would be only be her burden to bear. Not the Daxamites, not Mon-El, but her own mind that was on the line.

She pulled her eyes away from the ring. Her apartment was exactly how she left it, but somehow seemed so much smaller than before. Her eyes widened as her phone’s screen sprang to life and she saw the date. It had been days. There were numerous missed calls, mostly from Alex and a couple from Lena. She had been so pre-occupied with the ring and chasing Reign that she had forgotten why she did this in the first place. It had not occurred to her once to check on her sister, also Lena had been scrambling away from Reign when she first returned but she had barely noticed or cared. It was that moment of clarity that threw everything into perspective. Her concern for those closest to her had been repressed, it had to be the ring. Yet she still found part of herself wanting to keep it, to use its power to enact the will of the innocents that could not fight back. Concerned this moment of doubt would pass she held the ring, willing herself to pull it off. For a few agonising seconds, her fingers had not budged. The searing pain and beat of her heart telling her to let go, but the realisation of how little she was caring for others was strong enough to push these influences away. She began to pull. The moment the ring was even partially displaced, the beating stopped. She fell to her knees, clutching at her chest. The ring glided back into place and that vicious drum-beat continued. She stared at the ring, still sitting there on her finger. It felt as if her very life-force had left her when she moved it. Either it was fighting back or she was far more connected to it than she could have imagined.

Her nostrils flared, she got up and looked at the Lantern symbol on her chest. It matched the one on her ring, she attempted to will the symbol back to the House of El, much like she had willed away her cape on Ysmault. She yelled out and smashed the mirror when she failed, shards bursting out and raining onto the floor. Ripping the ring off in one quick motion might free her from it. Her breathing was fast as her hand hovered above it, but as quickly as she had lost control her rational mind began to take hold. She had been floored immediately by moving the ring slightly and the booming of her heart had stopped altogether. There was a chance removing it completely could do a lot more damage. It was too great a risk. For now, it appeared this battle of wills was not optional. She needed a new approach, the ring and its influence was stuck with her so she would have to learn to come to terms with it. She needed a way of enabling her more rational self to dictate her actions whilst still appeasing that burning anger inside of her.

She spent the next few hours in a kind of meditative state. Her attempts to focus on the voices and coming to terms with this new burden lead only to uncertainty. Whilst she could feel more self-control as she detached herself, it still scratched away at her mind. Nothing she did seemed to truly tame it. The attempts at testing the ring’s abilities were also variable. Though there was some precision to her actions, the pieces of newly destroyed furniture begged to differ. Progress felt slow and such a closed environment was giving a poor indication regardless. She needed a real way to test herself that did no long-term damage to those that mattered to her. There was no telling what she might say or do without further understanding of the ring. The idea came to her quickly, Reign was dealt with but there was another threat that she had left behind, Prometheus. He was likely still out there and anything she may say or do to him felt inconsequential. He was a neutral enough enemy to bring down, dealing with him it could even put her in better standing with the D.E.O. and Alex for when she had to face them again. She closed her eyes, trying to let the instincts and the voices lead her to him. However, the yelling and screaming quietened to whispers. The compulsion was negligible and there was nothing to follow, for whatever reason Prometheus hardly registered with this side of her. Without this form of tracking she felt stuck. Her time spent absent and hazy thought process meant she needed information from outside sources. Steering clear of the D.E.O. seemed wise after what she had done, that rational part of her was ashamed and feared the backlash from her friends. It was a risk, but she would have to go to Lena as Kara. She did not directly associate her with Supergirl and would be much more understanding of her in general. If Lena had made progress, she could find out quickly and make her excuses to leave. The less time she spent around her with uncertain control of this ring, the better. She hesitated, questioning if this was a wise course of action. The alternatives of charging around looking for Prometheus or waiting for people to come to her seemed much worse.

She looked down at herself. The ring and Red Lantern colours still lingered. Even without the crest co-operating, the cape had changed at her will. She concentrated hard to change her image. After a lot of mental effort, the suit was changed to regular clothes. There was still a red tint to it and a conspicuous ring to deal with. When she tried to exert her will further it simply changed back into the full Red Lantern suit again. She thought back to her fights against Atrocitus and Reign. The height of her powers had been when she embraced the ring, when she allowed that burning pain to engulf her. She thought on the harm Prometheus may have caused and what he could be capable of. As her feelings toward this threat promptly turned to rage, a normal outfit appeared on her. The ring had vanished from sight, but she could still feel its presence. It was the first real progress she had made in these hours but it was a worrying development. Steering into this rage could be a dangerous path.

She made her way over to L-Corp through conventional means and turned her phone back on to check Lena was still there. The call was picked up immediately.

“Kara, it’s a surprise to hear from you,” Lena said.

“Yeah, look I’m on my way over to your office. I’m guessing that’s where you’re at,” she said.

“I am, you can come right up,” Lena seemed hesitant. “I assume this is about Reign.”

“No,” Kara said.

“Oh… well okay then. I’ve got quite a lot I want to talk with you about anyway,” Lena said.

“Alright, go ahead,” she said. Thinking she could keep a better grip of herself over the phone.

“Probably better in person, I’ll wait for you here,” Lena said.

“Fine. See you shortly,” she said. Whatever this chat entailed, she needed to sidestep it. It felt similar to the last time she made this trip, the intention to grab information and leave.

Soon enough she was walking into Lena’s office.

“Hi Kara,” Lena said. She seemed unreasonably nervous, even with the recent rift between them she had never seen her so rattled. Kara wanted to ask, but a flair of pain from the ring gave her pause.

“There are holes in the walls, Lena,” Kara said. Realising it would be suspicious not to comment on them.

“Yes, those,” Lena scratched at her neck. “Something got Reign when she was here. I assumed that’s why you called. I’ve been turning reporters away because I have nothing useful to add. There seems to be no reliable indication of what happened and it was all too fast for me.” If Kal had said anything, it was not public information yet. She did not want to dwell as her blood began to boil once more.

“I’m actually here about Prometheus,” she said.

“Oh. Alex said… well never mind. I should be able to help with that soon. An associate of mine will be arriving at… some point… to deal with that exact matter,” Lena said.

“What did Alex say?” she said, weary of her sister’s attitude.

“She just said you’ve been chasing Reign non-stop since the attack,” Lena said.

“Yes…” she said, Alex must have been covering for her absence. Turns out the cover story was somewhat true. “Well I got nowhere with Reign, so I’m shifting my focus.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Lena said. Her usual self-assured and confident demeanour was nowhere to be found. Lena’s lack of agitation or follow-up questions to what she had been doing seemed off somehow. She could not help herself as she took a seat on the sofa.

“Is everything okay with you, Lena?” There was an odd weight on her shoulders when she said this and loud incoherent shouting in her brain, it was somehow different than the voices she was becoming accustomed to.

“Yes, I’m… well honestly, not really,” she rubbed her neck. “But don’t worry about me, I’m here for you now,” Lena said. Kara had only half-listened as she was still shaking off that odd feeling.

“For what it’s worth, it’s nice to see you again,” Lena said. Before she could respond a man with a hoodie and cropped hair burst in.

“Of course it’s nice to see me,” he looked straight passed her at the holes in the walls.

“You appear to be redecorating again.” He then spun on his heel and faced Kara. “It also appears you weren’t talking to me,” he said. Lena sighed.

“Kara, this is…”

“Oddball,” he said, cutting her off. “You can call me Oddball.” Lena quickly hid a puzzled expression.

“Well, Oddball. This is Kara Danvers,” she said.

“The reporter? Pleasure to meet you,” he said, extending a hand. “Tell me, would you describe yourself as intrepid or illustrious?” She reluctantly shook his hand.

“Your name is Oddball?” She said, ignoring the inane question.

“Yep, think of it like pool. Or are you more of a snooker fan?” he said, flipping out a notepad. She turned away from him.

“Lena, who is this?” she said. He scribbled something down.

“A man that’s helping me find Prometheus,” Lena said.

“First thing’s first, what the hell happened in here?” He said, casually pointing to the walls.

“It’s nothing,” Lena said, rubbing her neck again. She took a seat next to Kara, even more flustered than before.

“So did the walls destroy themselves or was this just shoddy workmanship?” He said. Kara’s fuse was shortening, Lena was clearly uncomfortable and something about this man really rubbed her the wrong way.

“Reign was here, now she isn’t” Kara snapped, Oddball perked up even more.

“She must really hate your office,” he said, kicking a bit of debris to the side.

“You’re making jokes? She clearly isn’t comfortable talking about this,” Kara said. Lena took her hand.

“It’s okay,” Lena said to her. That weight and odd feeling from the ring re-emerged. Lena continued to talk. “She wanted my help to take down Superman. She couldn’t get to my brother and just wanted a Luthor on her side.”

“Well damn,” Oddball said. Kara took her hand away, feeling the rage inside her. It was getting in the way of any clear thinking.

“What did you say to her?” Kara said, her eyes narrowing. Lena slumped back in the sofa and closed her eyes for a moment.

“I told her to go to hell, she started to threaten me but got grabbed by whatever wrecked the walls. Let’s just say I’ve been recovering from the experience” Lena said. Kara’s breathing got faster as the booming of her heart loudened. Reign had not only crippled her sister but had the audacity to use her friends as weapons. This would not stand, she had to find her again.

“Wow, telling a Kryptonian to piss off was no small feat,” Oddball said. Kara was barely paying attention to the room. The screaming voices returned, demanding Reign be punished. She had to leave, erupting here was not an option.

“Well I’m very busy at the moment, if you have nothing on Prometheus yet I’ll leave you two to it,” she said.

“You can always stay here and work with us, we’re close to a breakthrough,” Lena said. Oddball shot a look at her.

“No, I’m going,” Kara said, striding out to the lift.

“Well if you come back later we’ll probably have something,” Lena said as the doors closed. She tried to focus as the rage was taking over. Her mind was going haywire as she struggled to gain a semblance of self-control. To try and distract herself she listened in to Lena’s office with her super hearing. Hoping any conversation would draw her thoughts away.

“Not going to lie, that exit was a bit weird,” Oddball said.

“You’ve caught her at a bad time, Oddball,” Lena said, adding venom to how she said his name.

“Kudos for going along with that” he said.

“Let’s just get on with this,” she said.

“Also, you’re super obvious around Danvers,” there was a pause between them. “Joke’s aside, if you want to talk about Reign, I’m right here. I don’t have any of the spirit on me though,” he said.

“You know, sincerity just doesn’t sound right from you,” Lena said.

She did not know what this conversation meant and quickly tuned in out. She was grinding her teeth and flexing her hands. She was unable to resist the screaming voices any further and could hardly contain herself as the lift made its journey down. Reign had to pay.


	24. Turmoil

The instinct that had let her home in on Reign was somehow clouded and her frustration had reached an unbearable level. Consequences be damned, she needed to find her.

“Where is she?” Kara burst into the D.E.O., her eyes flitting around everyone in the room. She was met with surprised looks. The agents who approached her were wasting time telling her they were glad she was alright or asking why she was in red. Pointless questions she had no intention of answering. Her arrival had caused a commotion and soon more people started to leave their posts to see her. As more surrounded she clenched her fists, the lack of space or any answers to her question made it harder to think straight. She was making a conscious effort to try and calm herself now she was here, but the unending anger inside her was not so easily put down. Winn emerged from the crowd and upon seeing her, a smile hit his face. As his gaze lingered his expression dropped and he told everyone to back off.

“Tell me where Reign is,” she said. Winn looked taken aback, even he was dithering like the rest of them.

“Why is no-one saying anything?” she said. The agents backed off and looked to Winn, who looked around the room for someone else to start speaking up. When no-one came to his aid he stepped forward.

“Supergirl, you’ve been gone for days. You can forgive us for being a bit shocked,” he said.

“Reign. Now.” She said. Her head pulsed as she tried and failed to focus that same rage that let her home in on her before.

“Aren’t you going to tell us where you’ve been or why you aren’t in your normal suit?” he said. Her patience had worn thin and her eyes narrowed.

“Was it just a change in style you were after or did you think you’ve outgrown the cape?” he said, letting out a nervous laugh. “If you crash it’s not on me.”

His babbling attempts at levity were going nowhere, she pushed him out of the way in search for someone more useful. The strength of it sent him falling to the ground.

“Someone tell me where Reign is,” she said to anyone in earshot. It went silent, people were backing away from her with nervous expressions. Some had gone to help Winn.

“What’s gotten into you?” Winn said. She gritted her teeth, her question continued to go unanswered. There were clearer thoughts in her mind that told her to lighten her approach and that she was scaring them. It scratched away at her, she held her head and groaned as she tried to reach the part of her that knew what she was doing was wrong.

“What’s going on in here,” a voice cut through the tense room. All eyes moved to J’onn as he stepped out of his office. She pulled her hand down and shook off her thoughts.

“Supergirl? You’re okay,” J’onn said, relief reached his face.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Winn said. J’onn looked briefly confused by the comment but carried on.

“We’d thrown everything into our search for you, I’m just happy to see you’re safe.” He moved in closer to her. “You look… different.”

“I know what I look like. I need to find Reign and none of your people are telling me where she is,” she said. J’onn’s good mood changed to a look of suspicion.

“That’s because we don’t know. Superman and I were in Metropolis when she was sighted here. Superman flew ahead to get to her as fast as possible. I followed but didn’t get back until both Reign and Superman vanished. And now you’re suddenly back asking about it,” he said. Her anger faded slightly as she processed J’onn’s story. Superman had not reported what had happened to him either. There was only one place that made sense from here, the Fortress of Solitude. Even if Kal anticipated this and was hiding her someone else, it was the best lead she had. She turned her back to leave.

“Where are you going?” J’onn said.

“Away,” she said.

“Just like that, you arrive as suddenly as you disappear with a ring and new uniform, then expect me to accept that with no further explanation?” He said. Kara held her head again. She was at odds with herself, the drive to chase down Reign was still raging in her head and dictating her actions. But the voice of reason was fighting back, resisting that urge. The constant searing pain was numbing to an ache.

“Don’t do this, J’onn,” she said.

“Why not? I come into a warning from agent Schott and a crowd of scared faces, I think we’re owed an explanation,” he said. Part of her wanted to say everything, gush out her turmoil and the influence of this ring, but she held herself back. They wanted to bench her before when it was just Mon-El weighing on her mind. There was no way she was going to back down now.

“I don’t owe you anything,” she said. J’onn folded his arms.

“I’m worried about you, Supergirl,” he said. Her feelings hardened, more pity was being thrown her way.

“Don’t be, I’m stronger than I’ve ever been,” she said.

“Just stay here a while, check in with Agent Danvers. I think it’s better we played this slow,” he said. The pain flared up again and her breathing got faster. J’onn was trying to distract her. If Alex were here she would have appeared by now, he was trying to use her as leverage like Reign wanted to use Lena.

The numbing returned, telling her this warped logic was dangerous to everyone around her. She struggled to work out what to repress and what to embrace. She yelled out and smashed a nearby console in her confusion. It seemed like everyone in the building had stopped to see what had happened. The chatter, tapping of keyboards and general background noise all fell silent as more prying eyes looked toward her. Only the sound of Kara’s heavy breathing resonated around the room. She should not have come here, she knew that before she came but the rage had got the better of her again. There was an increasing tension and fear in those around her, it clouded her mind further. None of them moved or spoke. She fumed in the centre of it all, watching the pieces of the former console spark and tumble. Her loud breathing slowed and the booming of her heart quietened as the mood of the room truly dawned on her.

“I don’t think you’re in a fit state to go back out there,” J’onn said, as he approached her. The other D.E.O. agents watched with anticipation, she could tell they were all on edge.

“I’ll decide what state I’m in,” she said. Her sharp breathing caused her whole body to motion, she could feel the burning in her blood as J’onn stepped closer.

“I’m doing this for your own good, you don’t want to do something you’ll regret,” J’onn said. Kara laughed as Reign’s melted arm popped into her mind. J’onn had no idea what he was dealing with, none of them did. They might try and stop her before she could get to Reign if left much longer, she knew she should let them but the pulsing in her blood would not allow it. The screaming voices were urging her on, that Reign threatening Lena in such a manner and using innocents as weapons was unforgivable. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The red aura around her glowed brightly causing J’onn to stop in his tracks. Self-control slipped away once more. She hovered off the ground and her eyes were drawn to the exit.

“Supergirl, wait,” J’onn said. It was not enough, with renewed anger and the loudening booming of her heart she launched out of the building. The red trail she left gusted the whole room as she narrowly avoided the D.E.O. agents standing near the doorway.

Her rage carried her forward as she made the quick journey to the Arctic. It was quiet when she arrived. The voices had gotten clearer with regards to tracking Reign, she could sense she was nearby. She arrived to an empty main hall. She tried to follow the ring’s callings but it was still slightly off. The influence of the ring and her own inhibitions were clashing with each other constantly now, dulling her senses. Before she had a chance to clear her mind, Kal emerged from a passage she had not seen before. There was a sullen look on his face but he stood tall and firm. Seeing him sparked some of the ring’s influence again. She clenched her jaw and tried to repress it as best she could.

“You can’t hide her from me,” she said. She recoiled after she said it, unable to fully drive away the anger.

“I’m not hiding her, Kara. If anything, I was hoping you would come along,” he said, beckoning for her to follow. His lack of hostility and calm tone took off some of her edge.

“I… what?” she said.

“Actions have consequences, Kara. Come with me,” he said. His calm tone was strangely disarming as her initial anger started petering out again. She cleared her head as best as she could and followed him through a downward path. It was a narrow cave that had distinct lack of grandeur to it. She had to duck under some of the lower parts of the ceiling. The hissing of the walls when she touched the icy sides echoed through the passage, just putting her hands near the ice was enough for it to start melting away. Kal briefly looked back, but quickly returned to leading her though. It would be so easy to push by him and rampage through the fortress, it was a part of her that wanted to follow the voices and tear this place to the ground in search of Reign. These thoughts simmered on as she quietly followed. The passage started to expand, there was more space to walk and stretch out. The temperature dropped as they continued, the fog of her breath rose to the low ceilings and even the ground beneath her feet started melted slightly with each step.

They reached the passage’s end and stepped into a large, underground cavern. It was empty and dimly lit except for a bright glow coming from the edge. The voices yelled out to her when she saw what it was. She shifted her feet, only just able to stop herself charging forward. The glow was emanating from a transparent chamber. It was an upright tube lined with warm, yellow light. Reign was inside. Her eyes were closed and her blistered, white skin was still showing signs of the plasma damage. She was propped up off-balance with a couple of bars inside, Kal had done what he could to keep her upright with only the one arm to keep her steady.

“Why have you brought me here, I thought you wanted to protect her?” Kara said.

“I will protect her, now and always,” he said.

“You brought me straight to her,” she said.

“Because I know what ever drove you to do this wasn’t really you. You can look at what it is you’ve done and know right from wrong,” he said. She scoffed.

“What even is that thing?” she said, gazing at the glowing lights. Superman’s demeanour seemed to be placating her full rage, it unnerved her at how little confrontation there was. He had not told anyone about what happened or even asked about the ring, he simply stood there and looked at Reign with that same sullen face.

“Those lights simulate a concentrated form of the sun’s light, a friend of mine in Gotham had it developed for me,” he said.

“You’re healing her?” she said, her nose twitched.

“It usually only takes an hour or two to heal me right up, for her it seems to be taking significantly longer. There’s nothing this thing can do about her arm either,” he said.

“Good, she’s dangerous,” she said. Kal turned to her.

“Do you really think that?” he said. Her frustration was stirring again.

“You must know what she did to me and to Alex,” she said.

“I saw Alex’s injury with my own eyes,” he said, turning away for a moment. “And of course I agree that Reign was dangerous, J’onn and I have been fighting her for off days.”

“So why are you restoring her strength? She’s too much of a threat and needs punishing for what she’s done,” she said, sucking air through her teeth. It was taking everything in her to fight the ring’s influence away and she could feel herself losing the battle. Kal only half acknowledged her as he kept looking at Reign.

“That friend of mine I mentioned, he likes to call me a boy-scout. The fact I choose… no… have to believe that there’s good in everyone. The fact that I think even the worst this universe can throw at us should be treated with kindness and hope apparently makes me a naïve fantasist. The thing is I know that’s not true, hope is what should drive all of us. When you came along and I got to know you, I knew I was no longer alone in that philosophy. You were a beacon of hope for everyone, especially me. It’s why I was so hard on you about the Daxamites… I held you to a standard that was impossible to keep, I’ve just been lucky enough not to be put in that same situation. I regret it took this for me to fully realise it. I’m sorry for that,” he said.

“So what? I’m supposed to listen to this moralising, accept your apology and just let what Reign did go?” She said. He sighed and wiped his forehead.

“She’ll have to face consequences for what she’s done, but hurting her or restraining her further won’t accomplish anything. Deep down I know you believe that too,” he said. His words resonated with her, but she could still feel the ring clawing at her thoughts. Those voices told her it was not enough. Reign had abused her power and made the ones she cared about suffer.

“I can’t stand by and let you return her to full strength,” she said. Kal stepped in between her and the chamber.

“She won’t return to full strength, you made sure of that. And I won’t let you hurt her further,” he said. The burning welled up again, he was standing against her.

“You aren’t strong enough to stop me,” she said.

“That won’t stop me trying.” The continuous calm demeanour of his had worked its way from soothing to infuriating. Her red aura grew all the stronger as she faced off with Kal.

“You can’t win,” she said. The beating drum of her heart banged away.

“You know, I saw something incredible recently,” he said, he looked off to the side.

“Don’t change the subject,” she said through gritted teeth. Kal ignored her and carried on.

“When you were beaten and it was just me, J’onn and a whole load of civilians at Reign’s mercy, you want to know who stepped up and saved the day?” he said.

Kara said nothing, she glared at him and tried to focus on what little voice of reason she had left to stand down.

“It wasn’t me, J’onn or some other super-powered being charging in like the cavalry. It was Lena Luthor of all people. Now I had doubted her before and she proved me wrong, but this time she really showed me who she was. She was totally powerless to stop Reign if she chose to attack. Lena faced up to that, armed only with courage. She told me she could appeal to the part of Reign that was still human. It bought me and J’onn time as she talked to her, time to get everyone to safety and try to find you.” He dropped his arms to his side. “Strength isn’t always about how hard you can punch or how fast you can fly. Lena believed in Reign despite what she had done, just as I believe in you,” he said. Kara felt that weight on her shoulders again. Her eyes moved away from Kal and to the chamber behind him. She had all but forgotten that Reign had once been a regular woman. She stood down, holding her head in her hands. The screams for vengeance started to fall by the wayside and it weighed heavily on her heart.

“Kara?” Kal said. Her eyes darted up to him. As more control came to her she turned and ran, ignoring Kal’s calls after her. She went through the cave, into the main fortress and kept going. Though she covered miles in a few seconds, her movement felt sluggish and heavy. She stood in the middle of a snowy plain, the fortress out on the horizon. The cold started to crawl its way under her skin. The snow crunched as she fell to her knees, anxious that this constant shifting of her morality would drive her to the brink of her sanity. The ring’s glow twinkled in the corner of her eye, she hated it and what it was doing to her. That odd feeling of weight seemed to be spreading throughout her body, even the act of kneeling in the snow was heavy as the wind chill pressed against her face.

After a few minutes of idly kneeling in the cold. She saw Kal fly out from the fortress, he landed in front of her.

“Are you alright Kara?” he said, offering a hand. She stayed on her knees and held her arms.

“I don’t know, I need some time,” she said.

“Well just so you know, she’s regained consciousness but is extremely confused and calling herself Sam,” he said. Kara’s eyes widened.

“I should go, the last thing she needs to see right now is the one that put her in this situation,” she said.


	25. Reunion

The keys jangled around as she fumbled for them. Her apartment door was more inviting than ever, it would let her hide away from the world. She was caught up thinking about Reign, there had to be a reason she had reverted to Sam again. Her haste to get out of there had cut off any opportunity for answers, but Kal was the much better candidate for handling whatever had happened. He had reminded her of what she was and what she should strive to be. Even so, she could sense the ring encroaching on her thoughts. She gave up on the search for the keys and stretched out her hand. She had created her civilian look using the ring’s abilities. The ring was invisible once more but it’s presence was still strong. She grabbed it and tried to slide it off. As it began to move she could feel her heart slowing and the burning pain fading. She fell to one knee as she continued to pull. Every centimetre it went she felt weaker. She soldiered through as her vision darkened and the voices in her ears faded to ringing. Her breathing was shallow as gradually her body completely failed to function. The ring sat at the base of her fingernail, it felt heavy in her limp grip. One last effort would end this. A simple pull to free her of this influence tempted her, she wanted to believe the ring was discouraging her with its own bestial will rather than the more alarming prospect of genuine harm that removing the ring could cause. She held it in place, most of her wanted to be rid of it, but the weakness and the exhaustion that took over her body was too hard to ignore. The ring glowed at her, the circular symbol was the only thing she could see. It flared whilst all her surroundings turned to black. She no longer had the strength to keep it in place, she made the choice to let go.

As the ring shot back into place an explosion of pain overtook her body as the full power of it returned to her. The voices shouted in a chaotic chorus to the accelerating beating of her heart. The burning was being pumped round her body and with each beat the fire inside her grew hotter. She cried out as each one of these sensations hit. Even through the excruciating pain there was a dark relief. The power returning to her in such a manner was exhilarating and she drew a disturbing amount of pleasure from it. The hatred of the ring was still at the forefront of her mind, but it had also engrained itself into her. A part of her wanted to keep it despite all the suffering. Her door flung open and a concerned Alex stood over her.

“Kara?” Alex only paused for a moment before leaning down and hugging her. Kara quickly became pre-occupied with confusion.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Alex said, squeezing her tightly. She then pushed her away and punched her in the shoulder. “Where the hell have you been?”

Kara looked at her sister, she struggled to string coherent thoughts together. Alex’s mixture of annoyance and elation made it hard to get a handle on in her current state. Alex stood there with hands on her hips expecting an answer. It took longer than it should for Kara to notice what was wrong with this.

“You have arms…” Kara said, gently touching Alex’s wrist. The smooth surface was strange as she inspected the unexpected change. Alex pulled her arm away.

“Why did I have to find out from the others that you were back? Why didn’t you come and find me?” she said. Kara still struggled to gauge the exact situation she was in.

“Can we go inside?” she asked. Alex sighed and stepped aside. Kara stepped in, feeling the power in her legs once more. Alex slammed the door behind her and folded her arms.

“Who told you?” she said.

“Both J’onn and Clark called me to tell me that you’re back. They’re worried about you, so I’ve been waiting. I just don’t know what to think,” Alex said.

“It’s fine,” she said.

“It’s not fine, I’ve been going insane worrying about you. You disappeared without a trace after being beaten to a pulp. J’onn then forced me to stay out of it, telling me I should rest after my injury. I’ve been lying to Lena, telling her you’re just pre-occupied instead of missing, all the while doing what I can to search for you without the D.E.O. Then you show up and I feel like I’m the last to find out,” Alex said. Kara paused, it was rare for Alex to be so distraught.

“I had things to attend to first,” she said.

“Clark told me what you did, I just want to know why you didn’t come to me first,” she said.

“Does anyone else know?” she said.

“He told me to keep this between us for now, he’s giving you the benefit of the doubt Kara. But I want to know why I had to come to you myself,” Alex said. Kara was unsure just how much had been said, or how much Kal understood about her condition.

“You aren’t angry about what I did to Reign?” she said. Alex sighed.

“Honestly, I feel like I should be. But when you were missing and I thought about what Reign did to you, I imagined doing much worse to her.” Alex paused, staring directly into her eyes. “I thought the worst, I didn’t want to believe it but I kept thinking you could be dead. So no, I have no problem with what you did to her. My problem is that you gunned straight for her before even letting me know you were alive,” Alex said. Kara was almost relieved that she had taken the news of her attack on Reign so well, the gratification felt like a weight off her mind.

“I can’t fully explain it, but just know I had your wellbeing in my heart the whole time,” she said.

“What does that even mean?” Alex said. Kara felt a pulsing from the ring. Alex was already in a bad way, she did not want to subject her to these new problems she was facing.

“I’m okay now. I’m sorry I didn’t come to you sooner. I just wanted to act quickly before Reign found out I was back,” she said. Alex eyed her suspiciously, but it soon faded as she pulled her into another hug.

“Don’t you ever disappear on me like that again,” Alex said, burying her face into Kara’s shoulder. She felt distant, it was a much bigger moment for Alex than her. She had not even been fully aware of the time she was gone. As far as she was concerned, there was still unfinished business to attend too. Reign was dealt with, if only temporarily, but Prometheus was a problem and there was still the matter of the immovable ring. She knew she should talk about it, but refrained. Instead she forced her mind to the present. Concern for Alex was no longer coming as naturally to her, though she refused to let herself give up that aspect of her being. She let the hug linger a while longer before pulling away.

“So… you have arms,” she said. Alex cleared her throat, sniffling slight and covering up her emotional moment up as best as she could.

“Oh, these things?” Alex said, clasping and unclasping the artificial hands. “Courtesy of L-Corp.”

“Lena just had those things ready to go?” she said.

“Not exactly, I had to go in and get them fitted. I tried to calm Lena down, but losing my original arms to push her out of the way of those beams riled a whole new level of guilt for her,” Alex said. Kara fretted, Lena always found a way to blame herself for things. Alex spotted the doubt in her eyes, she put her hand on Kara’s shoulder. Her arm movement was angular and unnatural.

“Don’t you start feeling bad too,” Alex said.

“They look incredible. And you have full control?” she said, doing what she could to steer the conversation away from how either of them was feeling.

“Mostly, there are a few kinks to work out. It’s another reason I’m currently not at work,” Alex said.

“It’s been so soon, I thought you’d still be on bedrest,” she said.

“I should be, but when I found out you were back I couldn’t just lie down and wait. It’ a minor miracle Maggie got me to stay still for even a minute,” Alex said.

“You shouldn’t put yourself at risk like that on my account,” Kara said. Alex raised an eyebrow.

“You instantly gunned for someone who nearly beat you to death on my account, I’d say you don’t have a leg to stand on,” Alex said.

“That’s different,” she said, feeling the ring send up another pulse of pain. There was a moment of silence between them.

“So, do those things come with any perks. Any gadgetry or enhanced strength in there?” she said. Alex smiled slightly.

“I actually asked the doctor the same question, in her words, the wiring is too intricate for stupid toys. She did mention limbs with enhanced strength were possible but told me my entire upper-body would have to be reinforced to accommodate it. I’m not entirely sure if she was joking or not,” Alex said.

“I’ll have to ask Lena about that one,” she said, forcing a smile of her own. The ring continued to pulse, but there was an emptiness inside her. The rage was hardly getting to her, but she was also instinctively repressing all other emotion. It was a balance that had to be kept or the ring might start fighting for her mind again. It was something she began to understand now she was finally in a calm situation, emotional control was the key to keeping herself in check. It was hard to maintain, but until she found a way to remove the ring she had little other choice. It worried her, fighting without compassion and dipping into her anger would be a slippery slope. Permanently becoming the woman that was so brutal to Sam and willing to fight Kal had to be avoided.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit distracted, are you sure you don’t want to tell me where you’ve been these past few days?” Alex said.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. She did not want to burden Alex any further.

“Well okay, I guess it’s still fresh. You should at least check in with Lena if you get a chance. She kept asking after you, it was kind of sweet,” Alex said. Kara lowered her glasses.

“Speak of the devil,” she said as she spotted Lena making her way up the stairs with her X-ray vision. Alex looked over her shoulder.

“If she asks, you’ve been chasing the Reign story,” Alex said.

“Already covered, I saw her earlier,” she said.

“Wow, I really was the last to find out you were back,” Alex said in an annoyed tone.

“Last time we spoke I asked her about Prometheus, she might have something,” Kara said. Alex stopped to think.

“I’m technically on leave from the D.E.O. but any information she might have could be useful,” Alex said.

“Maybe we should keep the D.E.O. out of this for now,” she said. Weary that Lena seemed to have kept the D.E.O. out of the loop up to this point.

“What makes you say that?” Alex said. Kara did not want to go into detail about her recent trip to the headquarters. Lena’s methods had also been questionable up to this point, working privately with some unknown investigator had rung alarm bells in her head and the doubt still lingered.

“Let’s just see what it is she has first,” Kara said. Alex folded her arms, her fingers seemed to twitch as she held them in place. She hoped it was a quirk of the arms rather than disdain.


	26. Maps

She followed Lena’s path until the inevitable knock on the door. She waited a moment, Lena knocked again more loudly and put her hands on her hips. Kara looked to Alex, who gave her a slight shrug. The moment she opened the door Lena walked straight in.

“Kara, I need to talk to…” She stopped when she noticed they weren’t alone. “Oh, hello Alex,”

“Lena,” Alex said with a nod. Lena looked to Kara, then to Alex.

“So how are the arms holding up?” she asked.

“Very well thanks, that doctor of yours does very good work,” Alex said.

“That’s good,” Lena said. She paused, once more looking at the two of them. Lena’s weariness of Alex was plain to see.

“Why are you here?” Kara said. Lena inhaled quickly and in an instant regained the calm composure she was so familiar with.

“I have information,” she said.

“And what information is that?” Alex asked. Lena gave her a side-glance and hesitated before speaking.

“Prometheus. Oddball and I have pinpointed likely locations for his operations,” she said.

“Oddball?” Alex said.

“Don’t worry about it, what matters is we know where to look,” she said.

“You’ve worked awfully fast, we still have nothing on him,” Alex said.

“Our methods were… unique,” Lena said, pulling a map up on her phone. “We’ve narrowed it down to these spots.” The map app had a lot of pins in it around the outskirts of the city. Alex took the phone from her hand and scrolled around.

“There’s an awful lot of places to search, Prometheus’ operation can’t be this big,” Alex said.

“They’re the likely locations, we couldn’t get more exact with the data we had,” Lena said, snatching the phone back. Alex looked down at her hand with a puzzled expression, she clamped it shut as if testing its grip.

“I need to pass that on to my superiors,” Alex said.

“You’re supposed to be on leave,” Kara said, trying to stop the build-up of tension.

“I don’t need to be at full strength to send a file and co-ordinate a search,” Alex said, the underlying hostility between the two of them caused the ring to flare up.

“Fine,” Lena said. With a few presses both Alex and Kara’s phones buzzed. There was a wave of relief as the anger lightened.

“Thank you,” Alex said, looking at her phone. She grabbed a jacket and headed for the door. “I think you should stay here, Kara. I’m heading in and will see that Prometheus is found.” Neither Kara or Lena responded.

“Good work Lena, I’ll take it from here,” Alex said as she left. Lena sighed when the door shut.

“That was easier than I thought,” Lena said, fiddling with her phone once again.

“What was all that about?” Kara asked. Lena showed her a different map with only four pinned locations.

“I need you to get this to Supergirl,” Lena said. Kara furrowed her brow.

“You lied to Alex,” she said, her nose twitched.

“I just sent her an earlier draft of our work,” Lena said.

“Why the deception?” Kara said.

“Monarch thinks the D.E.O. will handle the Prometheus situation poorly, I’m inclined to agree with him,” Lena said.

“Whose Monarch?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Oh, right… Oddball. He gives himself different names for different people,” Lena said. Kara raised an eyebrow. “Look, it’s not important, I just agree with his judgement on this.”

“So, you’re trusting this random stranger whose real name you don’t know over my own sister and the government?” she said.

“The first time I dealt with the D.E.O. is when they asked me to develop a weapon that could kill an entire race at the press of a button. They didn’t tell me who they were or what they did beyond opposing Daxam. If I hadn’t followed it up myself that would have been the end of it. I’d hardly call that forthcoming or trustworthy,” Lena said. Kara’s fists clenched, the mixed feelings of her own problems at the D.E.O. and Lena’s attitude caused her blood to heat up. The pulsing from her ring-finger heightened and the beating of her heart pumped more aggressively.

“Has it not occurred to you that this man came into your life as recently as Prometheus and found these locations suspiciously quickly. It could easily be a trap,” she said, she did what she could to try and stay rational but the ring’s power was beginning to take hold.

“I’m aware that’s a possibility. I’m certain he has some sort of agenda, but we all do, and I’m sure his goals don’t include screwing me over,” Lena said.

“I don’t like this,” she said.

“However you feel about it, I also played no small part in this myself,” Lena said, pointing to the map.

“So why come to me with this? Kara said.

“Because I trust Supergirl, even if she’s weak after fighting Reign, she’ll still be strong enough to face Prometheus. She’ll also treat him fairly and not go in guns blazing,” Lena said. Kara stopped to think, with the recent changes to Supergirl she was not so sure that would be true at all. It was a testament to Lena’s faith that she believed Supergirl would be in a fit state to confront anyone after she was so severely beaten. It was the same hope Kal had put on her, the flattering but unfair expectancy of being the perfect paragon. She stirred, resisting the ring’s waves of rage. The voices yelled, telling her to fight back against these expectations and to strike this image of Supergirl down with a vengeful release. Destroying Prometheus and his operation outright could end this view people had of her.

“Why are you so concerned that Prometheus is treated well?” she asked.

“The investigation has been… revealing. I also can’t help but think when we first saw him, he wanted to bring me down but when my life was in danger, he dived into the fray and told me to run. That kind of behaviour suggests there’s more to this man. I think the D.E.O. won’t see that part of him and will treat him as nothing but a threat,” Lena said. The ring wanted to end Prometheus more than anything, but Lena’s words were like a salve to her burning rage.

“I’ll pass all of this information on,” she said, it was as creative a response as she could manage with her blurred thoughts

“Good, I guess it’s yours to do with as you please now anyway,” Lena said. Kara looked to let her out, but her path was cut off by Lena.

“There’s one more thing, the timing of this might be terrible but frankly I don’t want to dance around the issue,” Lena said.

“What now?” she said with clenched fists, the inaction fuelled her frustration.

“I need you back in my life,” Lena said. A strange feeling of weight caused Kara’s shoulders to slump and hands to go limp.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“These past few weeks, I’ve missed you, more so than I could understand. I thought my recent hardships were a result of stress or the build-up of everything that’s happened since I came to this city, but I was wrong. The emptiness I felt was because I didn’t have you beside me. Even that short time in my office was enough to remind me how my life feels so much better with you in it” she said.

“What exactly are you trying to tell me here?” Kara said, that odd feeling of weight cycled around her whole body, it was difficult to speak. Her head was empty as the raging voices that had seemed so loud were fading away.

“To be honest, I don’t exactly know myself. All I do know is that what I’ve been going through, particularly over the last few days, would have been so much better if you were there. I’ve come to depend on you more than anyone and it’s something I can’t lose.” Lena said. Kara stood there in stunned silence, she could not process what was being said. Her heartbeat was weak and even the slightest of movements took significant effort.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say,” she said.

“You don’t have to say anything. You’ve always been there for me and when it came time for me to help you, I failed,” Lena said. Kara tried to speak but Lena carried on

“You may not see it that way, you may have just wanted time for yourself, but I was too scared to come to you directly. I was hiding behind unanswered calls and messages because I couldn’t bear to see you so vulnerable. Then when I inadvertently pushed you away with my CatCo acquisition it killed a part of me.” Lena reached for Kara’s hands, instinct told her to pull away but instead she angled them so Lena would not accidentally touch the ring. Even with Lena’s soft touch, the grip felt strong.

“But I want to do better by you and I will do everything in my power to never let something like this happen between us again.” Lena said. Even with the matter-of-fact demeanour, Kara was finding it hard to fully concentrate on what Lena was saying. She heard the words but they seemed to just pass through her. As the full weight of what was being said settled in her mind, Kara’s strength drained from her body almost completely. She gently lifted Lena’s hands off her own.

“What’s brought this about Lena? We’ve always been close but I guess I never really thought about so deeply,” Kara said, she wanted to try and get some sort of grip on the situation. Lena let out a short, quiet laugh.

“A close brush with death, some sound advice and an alcoholic epiphany” Lena said. Kara breathed out slowly, barely feeling the air pass her lips. She gripped her ring hand, its presence continued to fade as Lena’s gaze fell upon her.

“I’m afraid don’t have any answers for you,” she said.

“I don’t expect anything from you right now. I just wanted to air it out, it’s only fair you know how I feel. I don’t know if friendship is enough for me any more,” Lena said.

Kara’s eyes widened as she failed to put together a coherent sentence. Lena’s words bounced around her emptying head as her strength waned to nothing.

“Perhaps I spoke out of turn…” Lena said.

“No,” Kara said, cutting her off “It’s just a lot to take in at once. Is this how you’ve always felt?”

“I don’t really know, you understand better than anyone that I’ve not always fully got to grips with my own emotional hang-ups,” Lena said. Kara nodded slowly, recalling the times Lena would confess her short-comings based solely off her surname. However, at this moment in time Lena was standing tall, her mannerisms and tone was that of the woman who was confident and always in control. Even with a confession such as this, Lena oozed composure. Any sense of fear or anxiety from her had vanished. It was the Lena she had come to know so well, the Lena that let nothing hold her back.

“I need… time,” Kara said, it all seemed to happen so fast. She was letting the words wash over her, Lena coming out with this whilst the search for Mon-El was still talking place and her ongoing battle with the ring sent her mind spiralling. As her mind raced, she realised that despite the confusion and weakness, the voices in her head had become whispers. Her heartbeat was faint and her whole body was being weighed down by some unknown force. Despite all this, it was the freest she had felt in a long time.

“Take all the time you need,” Lena said. Kara backed toward the door.

“Before I go, please promise me you’ll tell Supergirl not to approach Prometheus as an enemy,” Lena said.

“I promise,” Kara said, barely listening. She opened the door for Lena, who breezed past her. Lena looked back one last time and smiled at her before disappearing down the stairwell. Kara closed the door, it had been heavier to her than she had ever known. She stared out at nothing in particular, trying to comprehend what just happened and savouring the relative calm that had reached her raging mind.


	27. Discovery

The phone was heavy as she tried and failed to concentrate on the map it displayed. The lack of hesitation and the confidence in Lena’s voice had driven the point home so thoroughly that it had rendered her dumbstruck. She knew she had to take action but found herself stuck, alone with her thoughts. The way Lena acted around her and how she would completely open up to her had sign-posted this moment, yet she still felt blindsided. It had just not occurred to her that Lena would want an even closer relationship. She had always attributed her behaviour as a way of venting from the laser-focus she had on her work and research. She wanted to know if it had all been by accident, if their time together had brought this side of Lena out or whether it had always been there.

She realised it did not matter where this had stemmed from. After all was said and done, Lena was attracted to her and wasted no time or effort making it known. Her old relationships came to mind, she would spend weeks or months avoiding the issue and arguing with herself whether it was right. A constant back and forth of maybes and uncertainty until she just fell into them. This was a different experience altogether, being blissfully unaware of it all had caused her to be less guarded around Lena than anyone else she had known. She could not help but ask herself if it was something she subconsciously encouraged.

However, there were sticking points in her brain. She had never even considered being with a woman before. There was no denying Lena was attractive but it was all so new to her. Reflecting on it all she realised it was shared feelings and mutual love that had driven her physical attraction rather than the other way around. Her pursuit of love and relationships had always been more about emotional connections. When Alex had come out to her it was confusion over the way she was attracted to people that triggered any misunderstanding. It dawned on her that her own feelings on romance worked differently. Her acceptance of the norm had hidden this away from herself. Anything more than friendship would not even come to her mind most of the time and even when it did, it seemed pointless to her without a strong emotional bond behind it.

Inevitably as these thoughts flooded her mind, Mon-El crept back to the forefront. Burying her feelings and the influence of the ring had all but cast him out of her thinking up to this point. Now with a clear head she remembered what she had done and that he could still be alone out there, unable to ever return. A loud beat of her heart thumped in her chest as she forced herself to think about the Daxamites. The familiar voices returned, whispering for vengeance. They told her the crimes of Rhea and her army had been punished but there were still so many more people to fight for. The weight of the phone began to lift when her thinking was drawn away from Lena. There was another thump of her heart and a small glimmer from the ring. She concentrated on it, before long the red and black uniform materialised around her. The symbol of the red lantern slowly built itself onto her chest. The weight and weakness lifted ever so slightly as the whispering voices spurred her on. It was a call to action. Confusion and self-pity over Lena, Mon-El and the ring would have to wait. Once Prometheus was out of the way she might have time to deal with everything one way or another.

She headed over to the window, but immediately started to drop as she flung herself out. The wind rushed around her as the unnerving feeling of falling overtook her. She clenched her fists and tried to focus on the fight at hand. Her fall slowed as another boom of her heart sounded out. Her face hardened as all the problems the ring caused her accumulated in her mind. With a louder boom the fall stopped to a hover. It pained her, but she forced herself into flight. The strange weight was still pushing down on her and slowed her significantly. She rose back up, recovering the distance she fell. The power she had possessed when fighting Reign and Atrocious seemed to be lost to her as she spotted that even the cars below were going faster.

Even with sudden weakness there was no turning back. It was her chance to end the threat and put the past few weeks behind her. The voices heightened as her frustrated flight carried on. She seethed at the city going by so slowly. There were people below scratching their heads and murmuring to themselves about the red dot in the sky. They knew nothing about what had happened but once Prometheus’ operation was crushed, a new Supergirl could rise. The ring glowed brighter and she picked up speed as she imagined this version of herself, one free from scrutiny and loss.

When she finally reached the first location she thought there might have been a mistake as all she could see were empty office blocks. They had an ambiguous “to let” signs on them, actively inviting people to totally ignore them. The passers-by seemed to mostly be avoiding her or giving her curious looks, unsure about what this person was doing. She tried to use her X-ray vision, but could only muster flashes of it. She blinked rapidly as her eyes stung and a headache began to form. With each quick glimpse she managed to get a picture of what she was up against. There was a small group of people underneath the “to let” building. Three were slouched down in a circle, another was leaning against a wall, seemingly waiting around for nothing to happen. To the shock of the few people nearby, she floated a few inches above the ground and went inside. She found some stairs, still hovering so any footsteps would not give her away. She followed her vision to a basement door and listened in. There was some general chatter and an inconsistent rattling from within the room. She put her ear up to the door as her hearing was also in a dulled state. The rattling stopped.

“I’ll use my four of a kind for this round,” echoed through the door. She pulled back. Now knowing the element of surprise was on her side, dispensing of these people would be quick work. Break the door down, speed through them, carry on. She squared up to the door and drove her heel just below the lock. There was a loud thud. The door had cracked but remained in place. She looked at it in disbelief, her kick had not been strong enough and with another flash of X-ray vision she saw everyone in the room turn to address this sudden disturbance. With a burst of annoyance, she lowered her shoulder and crashed through. A pulse from the ring rippled through her as the door shattered. She stood in front of the now empty doorway, watched by a group of surprised eyes. Broken bits of door were also now littered across the floor. The force of her entry sent the shade-less bulbs swinging from the ceiling, the shadows stretching and changing as they swung. Her lack of a plan B dawned on her as she stepped further into the centre. The space was open as she saw most clutter had been neatly stacked at the sides of the room. There was just one table set out with dice and scorecards on it. The smell of cigarettes filled her nostrils as she watched smoke rise from an ashtray in the middle of it all. One of the gang’s number took in the sight of the former door splintered across the room, she then looked up from the damage to this inspect new threat.

“Who are you?” she asked, she had a strong build and piercing eyes. Kara remained silent, looking at each one of them in turn. They all looked like they could hold their own in a fight, one was very large with blue skin and another had strange ridges on his arms and forehead. Their presence made the two humans in the room seem almost quaint. With apparent hampered abilities there was a very real chance that a fight would not go well.

“We won’t hurt you if we don’t have to, but we can’t let you leave,” the woman said, inching toward her. As the bulbs began to steady Kara noticed a colourful half-sleeve tattoo on her arm.

“I’m Supergirl, and I will put an end to all of this,” she said. Regardless of her odds there was an urge inside her to fight. The woman stopped in her tracks. The other human spoke up.

“Supergirl don’t wear black and red, boss.” The tattooed woman cocked her head.

“She’s got the hair, and looks kind of the same,” Her eyes narrowed. “But it wouldn’t take a Super two tries to knock a door down.”

Kara shifted her feet and stood as tall as she could. The whispering voices had gradually gotten louder and whilst it was still faint, her heart had a constant beat in her ears.

“You some sort of pretender?” The blue one said. Kara scowled as the four of them surrounded her.

“Our boss doesn’t want any unnecessary violence, but you aren’t giving us a reason to back down,” the woman said. Kara did not budge, waiting for her moment.

“I’m bored of this.” The voice came from behind her.

“No, wait,” the woman said. Kara turned to see the blue alien grabbing for her. She ducked under his arm and punched him in the chest. He looked baffled as her fist lightly bounced off. Out of habit she had pulled the punch to avoid breaking the man in half. But this served as another harsh reminder for her current lack of power. As the alien hesitated, she quickly pulled her fist back and threw all her might behind a swing at his jaw. There was a distinct crunch and a shock to her knuckles as it connected, he wobbled and promptly collapsed. She shook off her hand and sucked air through her teeth, punching him had hurt. The others in the room all exchanged glances as their companion hit the floor with a thud. There was one moment of quiet before chaos took over and they all rushed at her.

With her strength failing her she knew she had to fall back on her training. As the first of her opponents charged, she side-stepped and with a quick motion stuck her foot out, pushing him over it. His momentum sent him tumbling to the floor but Kara had been unprepared for her own weaker base and was thrown off-balance herself. By the time she regained balance, she only had a split-second to deal with the tattooed woman bearing down on her. She gritted her teeth and a thin red aura glowed around her. The woman shattered this shielding with the impact of her shoulder. As Kara stumbled the woman grabbed her, lifted her over her head and slammed her into the ground. As her back rammed into the floor sending a shock through her body, the pain and thrill of the violence coursed through her. The woman immediately mounted her and dug her knees into Kara’s sides, squeezing the breath out of her. Splinters from the door were digging into her but Kara brought her arms in front of her face. The woman was in a strong position to keep punching her. The first swing drove Kara’s slightly outstretched arm into her head. This only added to her headache. Despite the pain and the ringing in her ears she managed to keep composure, bringing her guard in closer. It reminded her the hard way that her overreliance on pure strength had led to poor form.

She growled at her own shortcomings as more punches followed. However, she was now quickly adapting to her current abilities and a well of rage was building up in her. The onslaught of fists stopped but she did not believe for a second this was an act of mercy. Forced breathing from the woman’s knees digging into her sides and her weakened state was not enough to dull her instincts. Her gut paid off as she just moved her head out of the way of another foot stomping down at her. This man’s boot just caught the edge of her ear. The pain shot straight to her head. She snarled and could feel blood boiling in the back of her throat. This whole time she had not had the opportunity to budge this woman on top of her, that had to change. As the other two bore down on her and started lashing out kicks, the woman took a big swing. She took the punishment from the kicking and focused on the woman. She looked into her eyes and fed off the anger inside her. As Kara blocked her face, a couple of glowing red gauntlets materialised around her arms. The fist slammed into them with a hideous crunch. Kara felt the woman’s grip loosen as she recoiled, holding her hand and screaming out. A smirk found its way onto her face as the gauntlets vanished and she reached for large part of the splintered door. She smashed it into her face and pushed off as hard as she could. It launched the woman, sending her flailing back several feet. Kara rolled backward, avoiding the crushing feet of the other two men. Her red glow started to brighten the dim room. She thought of exacting harsh retribution on her attackers and summoned the gauntlets again with much greater ease.

Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, she did not wipe it away as she eyed her opponents with utter determination. She could sense their nervousness and slammed her fists together several times, red sparks crackled from her hands as she did so. The human man started to step back so she lunged forward at the closer target. The momentum sent the lightbulb swinging anew and the light glimmered off the shimmering gauntlet as her fist slammed cleanly into the alien’s temple. He was still conscious, barely. She refused to relent and upon noticing the woman trying to get up again, Kara picked the alien up and threw him at her. He bounced off her back and sprawled into an awkward landing. The woman put her other hand down to try and catch herself but it drove her injured hand into the ground. She yelped and rolled onto her back, wincing and clutching her wrist.

The fight had exhilarated her, each moment that passed she could feel her power returning. Only one was left standing now. The room was now fully engulfed by her glowing red aura. The man had backed off and put his hands feebly out in front of him.

“I give up, don’t hurt me,” he said. Kara’s eyes narrowed, the voices were there telling her that this was the man who would merrily stamp on her whilst she was down and that he deserved no mercy. They screamed for vengeance for others he had wronged in the past. She moved toward him, stepping over the unconscious blue alien as approached. The man was backing off still, Kara kept her pace slow. He backed into the table, falling onto it. He whimpered as he scrambled up and over it. Soon he had no further to go, cowering up against the wall. Kara had not stopped, she tossed the table aside and it broke across the wall.

She reached the man and grabbed him by his shirt, getting right into his face and snarling at him. The fear in his eyes was so blatant she could almost feel it herself. The chorus was in her mind, spurring her to finish him in the name of those who had suffered. The pace of her heart quickened, the beating became so loud that it started to drown out the voices. She brought her fist back, knowing there was no going back if she followed the will of the ring. She took a deep breath. The stink of cigarettes was still in the air and the man’s whimpering joined the sea of noise in her head. She saw a flash of red before she brought her fist forward with great force.

Her gauntleted hand crashed into the wall inches from the man’s head. The man slowly turned to her arm, his eyes followed it up to the point of impact, where her fist had deeply embedded itself into the concrete wall. His eyes then rolled back and he slid to the floor. He had fainted. Kara yanked at her hand, after a few tries she ripped it clear. A few chunks of debris bounced off her face. She stopped to breath, her heartbeat slowed and the voices quietened. She felt a pang of relief as she not only won this fight but had resisted the brutal demands of the ring. Before she could fully recover, her attention was drawn to the woman. She was noisily trying to deal with her wound.

The gauntlets shimmered out of existence as Kara walked over to her. She lifted her up by her injured hand. She hovered slightly, forcing the woman to stretch up onto her toes.

“This will stop if you tell me where Prometheus is,” she said.

“You think this will make me talk?” the woman said. Kara hovered up higher, the woman’s feet now dangling above the ground. The woman’s brave face faltered slightly as Kara started to gradually apply more pressure to the injured hand. The woman grunted and fought through the pain.

“I don’t even know who you are,” The woman said.

“I told you. I’m Supergirl,” she said. The woman shook her head as she dangled.

“Supergirl wouldn’t have the guts to torture someone like this,” the woman spat out at her. Kara dropped her in shock, she had resisted the ring’s influence only to immediately fall back into cruel methods. The woman crumpled to the floor. Kara stepped back and looked down at her in a panic. She flew out of there as fast as she could, hoping the D.E.O. would show up soon enough to clean up her mess. All she wanted to do now was to search the remaining locations and find Prometheus at one of them. She was determined to bring him in. And if possible, without hurting anyone else along the way.


	28. Mask

The second spot was much like the first, another “to let” office block. This time the street was suspiciously empty save for two men in suits standing at the entrance. Her power was still stifled but was becoming more consistent. The basement was empty, so her eyes were drawn up to the central floors. To her dismay there was well over a dozen outlines. Some were milling about but most were grouped together in some form or other. One seemingly on their own was particularly animated, the motions and gestures suggested they were in a conversation. She focused hard on the spot this figure was facing. Whilst she was doing this, the men in suits approached her.

“Can we help you ma’am?” One said. She ignored him, concentrating on this one spot. She could only make out a few blurs, but what she was seeing soon dawned on her. Back when she first saw Prometheus his armour was somehow shielded from her vision, it had to be him. The suited men had lost patience quickly.

“We’re holding a private function, we’ll have to ask you to move along,” one said. Kara looked at them both, the voices called for her to put them down but she shook the feeling off and wordlessly flew up to the crowded floor. One of them put his finger to his ear and they both ran inside. Determined not to let the ring get to her, she opened the window cautiously and entered. She was greeted by a group that was mostly human.

“You shouldn’t be here,” one said. Her arm tensed up as a pulse from the ring rattled through her, the voices loudened as she looked around the room. The area was a pretty standard office set up, an empty water-cooler and fake potted plants were dotted around the walls. The main space was filled with cubicles and workstations, it was as mundane as the “to let” sign these places boasted.

“Step aside.” The robotic voice cut through the murmuring. Her welcoming party looked back to Prometheus. His steps were measured and slow, he came to a halt a few meters behind his line of thugs.

“Move,” he said, they reluctantly backed off and joined the others who were skulking at the side-lines. Everyone went quiet as Prometheus folded his arms. His armour was no longer in flawless condition. Impact marks and obvious dents were plain to see. Some larger spots had been vaguely hammered back into place and there were welding lines in several areas. The outside chassis and most notably the face-plate held inferior materials in place and whilst one red bar remained, his other eye was completely visible through a wide, hastily crafted slit. She figured they were quick repairs from his run-in with Reign. Her heartbeat quickened and the voices in her mind dulled as he stood before her.

“You,” was all Kara could manage without threatening him.

“Me?” A different voice answered as someone popped out from behind Prometheus, she recognised Oddball’s hoodie and stupid grin. Kara glared at him, thinking about the implications of his presence. However, she struggled to think straight as the anger she picked up from the rest of the room disrupted her. Oddball looked around, gauging the reaction.

“Him then?” he said, pointing to Prometheus. Prometheus pushed him without looking away from her. Oddball managed to stay on his feet, but put his hands out and backed off.

“Message received, I’ll shut up,” he said. One of the goons smacked him round the back of the head, Oddball turned to this goon and glared at him.

“So, this is my reckoning?” Prometheus said, pushing past the awkward interlude. Her urge to lash out and attack everyone was building, but her determination to let that side of her go kept her from obliging it.

“Come quietly, we can end this now,” she said with as little venom as she could. Prometheus adjusted the supports on his arms.

“And why would I do that?” He said. There was a tense silence as Prometheus’ people stood by and watched. Tension that was broken when the two suited men burst through the door. Before they could do anything, Prometheus turned to them and shook his head. The sudden loud noise had spurred on the voices. The more she resisted their demands, the stronger they got. It was hard to concentrate on anything, but that pang of conscience stayed with her. Deep down she wanted no more harm to those around her.

“Your entire operation is compromised, it’s only a matter of time before all your hideouts are raided,” she said. He looked to Oddball who gave him a slight nod, Prometheus sighed heavily.

“I know when I’m beaten, but I won’t let you take me without a fight,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She said, there was a twitch at the side of her mouth and the pain in her head started to burn away at her.

“This is all over, so let my people leave. They’re unarmed and won’t get any more orders from me. We can settle this between ourselves,” he said. There was a rise from their audience, every emotion from relief to fury echoed around the room. Kara sensed every single one of them as the voices in her head grew to pure pandemonium.

“Quiet,” Prometheus said. Everyone stopped in an instant, they hung off his every word. “This is her decision to make.” The ring’s will was clear, leave none standing. She wanted to follow it, but thought back to dismembering Reign and nearly killing a defenceless man in the name of this ring’s justice. There was just enough of her old self left to cling onto in this sea of retribution and burning pain flowing through her veins.

“Your people can go,” she said. Prometheus reacted with no emotion. 

“You heard her. Leave.” Despite some initial hesitance and a few going straight up to him to argue, they eventually all filed out the room. As each one left, the voices quietened until there was nothing but whispers. That same weakness she felt in her first fight crept its way back. It was almost silent between the two of them, only that whispering and a faint beat of her heart padded softly.

“This is it then, you beat me down and bring me to heel?” he said. She remained as calm as she could but the ring still scratched away at her.

“You’re the one choosing to fight. You started all this,” she said. His exposed eye flitted away for a brief moment before widening.

“Don’t you moralise at me,” he said.

“I’m not moralising, I want this to end peacefully,” she said.

“I don’t believe that for a second, you live for this,” A shock hit her as a wave of anger came over her. He leapt forward and his fist crashed into her, she stumbled back toward the window. She caught herself on the edges and moved away from it, barely registering Prometheus as she tried to choke down the rage.

“It might be a new costume but you’re still the same Supergirl, putting down anyone that steps out of your line,” he said. Kara clenched her fists, wanting so much to lash out. She let the feeling pass and her hands went limp. Prometheus came at her again, punching hard at her stomach, she grabbed his fist, only just mustering enough strength to stop it. Prometheus quickly followed-up by jamming his elbow into the bridge of her nose. Her face exploded with pain and her neck jerked back violently. She tumbled through a cubicle wall before catching herself on a desk. Her vision was blurred and a single red tear streaked down her face as blood streamed from her nose. She wiped at both, her own blood fizzed away on the glove and the beat of her heart grew ever stronger. She growled as she pushed herself off the desk and stood to her full height. More aware of her fury, she took breaths and tried not to embrace it. It would only prove Prometheus right.

Prometheus chucked away the remains of the cubicle wall, but Kara made no attempt to guard herself. He hesitated.

“What are you playing at? Toying with your prey?” he said. With the little clarity that was left in her soul she sensed doubts in his mind.

“I don’t think this is who you really are,” she said. That one visible eye of his softened, but soon hardened again as his reinforced boot kicked her into the desk. She fell back over it and rolled through another cubicle wall. She faltered when she tried to get up again, slipping down as the pain engulfed her. Moment by moment her mind was filled with the temptation to strike out at him, but she could feel that doubt of his was growing. She fought against the ring’s temptations, knowing a fight would only motivate Prometheus to his own frenzied state.

This time when Prometheus went for her, she conjured a translucent wall between them. He bounced back off it. She stared at him through it, the red filter accentuating the shining parts of the damaged armour. Her eyes met his as he pulled back his fist, another slight pause came over him before he punched the wall. Energy rippled from the point impact and Kara felt the strain.

“Why won’t you fight back?” he said, each word reinforced with jab at the wall. She was struggling to hold it together as the assault began to crack it. Though with each punch, she could see the impacts were buckling the makeshift repairs on his armour. It would provide an opportunity to get at him. The onslaught from Prometheus was wearing her down, the staggering amount of pain in her head was building to levels she could hardly stand and blood still trickled down her face. She could taste it as she gritted her teeth and stared directly into his eye. Prometheus punched away and sparks started to fly from the hits until eventually the wall shattered. Time seemed to slow as a single beat of her heart filled her ears and a voice yelled out at her to finish this. Amongst the angry chorus of white-noise, she heard a singular voice cutting through. It was Lena’s, telling her not to treat him as an enemy. She blinked as shards of the former wall danced in the air before fading to nothingness. Prometheus’ eye twitched ever so slightly as he crashed through. Kara felt some power return and her pain subsided as she reached out for her opponent. After that flash went by, her senses returned to normal. She was holding Prometheus by his face mask, her middle finger had latched round the exposed eye-slit. It stopped him in his tracks and the ring itself hissed away as it pressed into his skin just above his eye. His head trembled slightly as the ring burned away at him and he let his guarded stance drop.

“Well, you’ve got me at your so-called mercy,” he said, forcing the words out through his anguish.

“I fight for those who can’t fight for themselves,” she said. The voices were still yelling for revenge and to end the threat for good. She looked aside, doing what she could to hush these thoughts. Noticing her hesitance, Prometheus spoke out again.

“Do it, finish this,” he said. Kara’s eyes narrowed, the ring fed off his outburst and she nearly got caught up in the moment but managed to hold back.

“What’s the matter, you had no problem killing thousands of Daxamites, what’s one more death to you? Or is murder only option when Luthor approves it for you?” Her grip loosened slightly, she remembered that conversation over coffee that seemed so long ago. The remorseful woman who fought tirelessly to do the right thing, even if it was the hard choice. That odd weight pressed down on her and the angry voices disappeared. It became clear what she had to do. The hissing from her ring simmered down as she tightened her grip on Prometheus’ face-plate. She placed her foot on his chest for leverage and pulled hard. She felt weak again and her tired arms struggled to yank it clear. Prometheus did not try to resist as it started to give way. When she finally ripped it off they both fell back from the lack of resistance. Kara picked herself up and looked at the mask, the red light from the eye blinked off. She then looked to the man lying on the floor, he had propped himself up with his elbow. It was no-one she recognised, in fact he looked about as average as someone could get. He looked conflicted when Kara dropped the mask and offered her hand. After some deliberation he grabbed it and allowed her to help him up. Kara then slumped herself onto a desk, exhausted. She grabbed a couple of tissues and started dabbing away at her nose, most of the blood had dried but there was still patches here and there. Prometheus pulled up a chair and wheeled over to her desk, notably conflicted. He also slumped and breathed heavily, clearly as tired as she was. They looked at each other.

“So, now what?” He said.

“Honestly, I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” she said. She was relieved that Prometheus had stopped fighting. The ring’s presence felt relatively calm and she almost felt like her old self again. Prometheus laughed slightly.

“Figures,” he said, rubbing at the burn above his eye. Kara leaned forward and reached out to inspect it. He pulled away, eyeing her suspiciously. Kara dropped her hand and gave him a bemused look. Prometheus paused, before turning the wound toward her.

“Is it bad?” He asked. Kara blew frost-breath onto her hand until a decent amount of ice built up. She pressed it against the burned area. The initial cold made him jolt, but there was relief on his face as the ice set in.

“It appears I’ve accidentally branded you with this,” she said. Showing him the symbol on the ring.

“Accidentally?” he spat out. She sensed a flair of anger and the ring glimmered. She looked down to the same symbol on her chest. Sick of the sight of it, she closed her eyes and willed it to change. To her surprise, the House of El imposed itself on her chest. Morphing with the Red Lantern symbol. A red crest had formed around the outer-circle and the S-shape had returned to the centre, though it was still flanked by the jagged lines.

“You don’t seem to like me very much,” she said.

“Why would I, you’re worshipped as a hero for putting people under your boot and killing thousands,” he said.

“You seem to be leaving out the part where these people are dangerous and out to hurt others,” she said. He scoffed.

“You think I don’t get that? It’s just the way you inflict your moral code on the world whether it likes it or not. Then you slam people away with no due process,” he said. Kara thought about her words carefully.

“Well what do you suggest? We let them run amok or try and throw them into a court system that has no procedure on aliens or how to deal with superhuman powers?” She said. Prometheus squirmed slightly.

“I admit, I don’t know the exact solution, but the government and L-Corp run their programmes with no accountability whatsoever.” He pushed away her hand and prodded at his burn. “I just wanted to change that.”

“What even was your plan? Kidnapping Lena Luthor, then what? Hold her to ransom, threaten her. Then move onto the government agencies somehow?” she said. He sighed.

“Everyone knows the Luthor name and L-Corp. Getting Luthor to face the harm she’s inflicted on aliens and publicly confess her crimes would wake people up, get them talking about the injustice and bring about some sort of change.”

“Why use such extreme methods? Is there some personal stake here, you don’t seem to be alien,” she said, blowing frost onto her hand again and reapplying it to his burn.

“Why would it have to be personal? I saw something wrong and know that in this climate you need to go to these extremes to force change. I’m not proud of what I did, but it’s a necessary evil,” he said, Kara raised an eyebrow.

“You think talking to Lena wouldn’t have accomplished anything? That she doesn’t care about her impact on the world?” He tried to answer. “No, I’m not done. I can tell you that that woman does everything she can to improve the world. It may not always seem right or fair but she knows that. She has to fight the demons of her past and wrestle with the decisions she has to make on humanity’s behalf. The problem you have is that she’s so strong she makes it all look so easy, but I assure you it takes its toll. Her faith in both me and herself was shaken to its core when I triggered that weapon, in her own way she told me it was the wrong choice.” Kara stopped to make sure her agitation did not build to something worse. “You just assumed she wouldn’t hear you out because of what you decided she was,” She said.

“So what? She makes the weapon but it’s okay because feels about it being used?” He said. Pain shot through her nose as it twitched.

“It was a decision I made,” she thought back to sending off Mon-El and the whole ordeal with the Guardians of the Universe. She felt a small pulse from the ring and a brief glimpse of the circle surfaced on her chest. “And one I regret. But if I had too, I’d do it again,” she said.

“Killing thousands…” he said.

“To save millions,” she said. They both stopped. Prometheus scratched at his brand.

“You shouldn’t do that, you know,” she said. He ignored her.

“The ends justify the means, job done and move on?”

“No, but you know yourself things aren’t that simple. Your own attack on the city nearly got a lot of people killed, you were lucky that I had sudden reinforcement to deal with that collapsing building,” She said, Prometheus’ face dropped, it was odd seeing such emotion on what used to be a total blank slate.

“That was... an unfortunate accident,” he said. He took a deep breath, she let him finish his thought. “But I guess I would have defended it by saying the ends justified the means,” he said. It was pleasant to hear emotion in his voice rather than the filtered monotone of the mask.

“Not so easy is it?” Kara said. Prometheus forced himself to a stand, he brushed himself off and looked at her.

“So again, what now?” He said. Kara glanced up.

“I don’t know really, soon you’ll have nothing harmful left and I know what you look like. I guess we part ways,” she said. He looked taken aback.

“You’re not bring me in or try to convince me to turn myself in?” he said. Kara clicked her tongue.

“Nah, you’re a good man at heart. You were just misguided in your efforts,” she said. He looked increasingly confused.

“That’s awfully trusting,” he said. She thought for a moment.

“I have to believe there’s good everyone,” she said, half-smiling as she thought of Kal. Proetheus scoffed at her.

“React how you like, but I offered you my hand and you took it. You stopped fighting and we’re even talking as equals,” she said.

“Maybe, or maybe you had me beat and I’m biding my time to strike again,” he said.

“Maybe, but see this thing,” she said, showing off the ring.

“Now you mention it, I did want to ask…” he said.

“It’s a long story, which I admit I don’t fully understand myself, but when there’s no personal stakes it only seems to rile me up more when facing bad people. It didn’t seem too concerned with you until you started throwing punches at me,” she said.

“Right…” he said, unconvinced.

“Go back out there and fight for what’s right… just do it without the terror tactics,” she said. He looked at her, puzzled.

“I’m not sure we see eye to eye on everything,” he said, extending his hand. “But I won’t turn down a second chance. I’ll let my people know that this is all over,” She shook it.

“If you squander this, I’m coming for you,” she said. He reached behind his neck, there was a clunking sound and latches around the armour sprung loose. He pulled off the armour piece by piece, revealing rather plain clothes underneath. When the last of them clattered to the floor, he nodded at her and headed for the exit.

“Goodbye, Prometheus,” she said. He stopped in his tracks, partially turning back.

“Mark. My name’s Mark,” he said, closing the door behind him. Kara looked down at the armour, telling herself she may regret the decision to let him walk away. How leaving him unpunished would encourage more violence. She let these thoughts go, smiling to herself as a mild glow from her ring faded away. Wrong choice or not, she had beaten the ring. She was startled out of this moment of reflection by a voice chiming across the room.

“I have to say, that’s a seriously underwhelming name.” Oddball poked his head out of a cubicle on the far-side of the office. “I was expecting something grander, like “Thaddeus” or “Bartholomew.””

She inhaled to speak, but failed to find the words several times before blurting something out.

“Were you here the entire time?” she asked. Oddball replied only with a shrug and a smile. 


	29. Names

Oddball made his way round to her, needlessly snaking between the cubicles as he went.

“Afternoon,” he said. Kara had met this man before, but Supergirl had not.

“Who are you and why are you here?” she said.

“You can call me Optic,” he said, waving at her. Her eye’s narrowed, Lena had mentioned his use of different names but the feeling that something was wrong about him remained.

“You didn’t answer my second question,” she said.

“Oh that. Well Prom asked if his people could leave and I’m not one of his people, so I was kind of unsure of what to do with myself when you said they could go,” he said. The ring dimly glowed to some sort of life.

“Don’t screw with me, if you don’t work for him then why were you here talking to him?” She said. Optic’s goofy expression dropped slightly and he leaned away from her.

“I’m guessing you know about this place due to Lena Luthor, I’m the one that helped her put that map together,” he said. She stood up and got right in his face, his breath had a faint aroma of mint. The idea that he could be playing Lena nagged away at her, making him squirm would bring out his true nature.

“She never mentioned anyone named Optic, so you’re either lying about working with her or lying about who you are,” she said. He shrunk away from her, but she kept in his face.

“Okay, for both our sakes let’s not do anything rash, maybe she just didn’t mention me,” he said. A sudden burst of red light erupted from her.

“If you’ve betrayed Lena in any way I will end you,” Kara’s eyes were wild and the elevated rage surprised even her.

“Monarch,” he blurted out. “She’d have called me Monarch,” He was getting tense. She did not back down, a fierce need to protect Lena was abolishing her rational thoughts.

“Why did you lie to me?” she said, pushing him into a chair. He stumbled back over it, she had pushed harder than she intended. He froze in place on the floor, looking up at her nervously. Any concern she had for him did nothing to stop her.

“You’re going to need to start talking very soon,” she said. Control was slipping from her grasp, she feared what she would do if it turned out he was working against Lena. He sat up, opened his mouth as if to speak, but kept stopping himself. As Kara’s patience was reaching its limit he spoke out.

“I need a moment,” he said. Kara scowled at him, but obliged with a nod. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, breathing slowly in through his nose and out through his mouth. His hands were outstretched and he flexed his fingers.

“I work in information. If the same name keeps cropping up people learn to keep their mouths shut when they hear it. It was force of habit, nothing more,” he said. He opened his eyes and looked back to her. She gritted her teeth.

“If it’s Lena’s secrets you’re after this will end badly for you,” she said, she smashed a desk in half whilst keeping eye contact to drive her point home. He took another deep breath, she sensed a distinct fear from him but his tone remained steady and clear.

“I’ve not targeted her in any way. I was working with Lena to find Prometheus,” he said. She stopped herself and looked down at her ring. The voices were quiet, but it was still a fight for control. Trying to replicate the progress she had made when faced down with Prometheus, she took a deep breath of her own.

“Just explain to me how you got yourself into such a compromising position,” she said. He seemed relieved at the calmer tone, holding his chest and taking another moment for himself. The tension in his body was taking time to fall away.

“I’m sorry about that… outburst. Can I get you some water or something?” she said. He cocked his head and threw an inquisitive look her way.

“Is this a weird version of good cop, bad cop? Because doing it on your own makes you look like a crazy person,” he said.

“You’ve calmed down I see,” she said, noting how jarringly his attitude seemed to change.

“Well I could say the same, that terrifying display didn’t seem very Supergirl of you. Although you lot seem to enjoy destroying furniture,” he looked down at the former desk before his gaze jerked back up. “Wait, what you said to Prommy… Is that ring messing with your head?” Kara clasped her hands together, she felt more in control again but was still weary of this man. That same feeling she had when she first met him refused to go away, she could not place it but her gut told her something about him was off. Peculiarly, she was sure it was not the ring that was triggering this suspicion.

“I’m the one asking the questions here,” she said.

“All questions, no answers. Fine,” he said.

“You aren’t in a position for anything else,” she said, the ring glimmered.

“Point well made,” he said, cautiously looking at it before speaking. “The truth is actually very simple, there’s no grand conspiracy here at all,” he said.

“So why did Prometheus look to you when I confronted him?” she said.

“He did?” his confusion was genuine. “Oh wait... that nod? I can see why you think that’s dodgy, but it was only because I said that others would come for him. You unintentionally made that point for me.”

“You were warning him,” Kara said, her temperature was rising.

“Not really. Look, investigation is my entire life. That means finding resourceful people I can ask questions or get favours from. Prom bursts onto the scene so I put feelers out, a guy with fancy tech, leadership and a knack for organisation is exactly the kind of person that’s good to know,” he said.

“Then you align yourself with criminals,” she said. Fighting away the need to be more aggressive.

“Some of my contacts see the law as… flexible, but much like you I figured our friend Mark was reckless rather than evil. My original plan was to convince him to stop his weird crusade and join the shady depths of National City that I call home,” his head bobbed up and down as he put events together in his head. “Which, now I think about it, you seem to have done for me.” All signs of his nervousness had disappeared, he almost seemed to be enjoying himself.

“So how does Lena fit into all this?” she asked.

“As much as I’d like to pretend I cleverly weaved this altogether, it was just luck and coincidence,” he said with a smile.

“Go on,” she said. He seemed intrigued by this line of questioning. He could not keep his head still as he spoke to her and kept giving her side-glances.

“Well I’m sitting around waiting to see what my bait reeled in and in walks Luthor herself. No agents or security with her, just rocks up like she owns the place. We had a little chat and I followed up, because as far as resourceful people go, Lena Luthor’s top of the food chain,” he said.

“So why come here, warning Prometheus doesn’t sound like something she’d want,” she said. Optic laughed.

“Actually, I figured that she couldn’t care less about what happens to him, so I went ahead and looked for him to work that original plan of mine,” he said.

“What do you mean she doesn’t care?” she said. Optic had found his rhythm and was barely skipping a beat with his answers, but still he looked at her in strange ways.

“Two-fold. She also worked out the Promster wasn’t actually intending to hurt anyone and of course the classic reason, doing it all just to impress some girl, yeesh,” he said, rolling his eyes. She slumped back.

“This was all just an exercise in networking for you?” she said, there was no reason to believe him but she had nothing else to go on.

“Pretty much,” he said. She did not want to let him walk away without some sort of verification.

“Well I’m out of useful questions, but they’ll be people here soon to find out what you’re really up to,” she said. Optic look disgusted as he face-palmed.

“Don’t tell me the D.E.O. saw that map?” he said. Kara was weary once again, not only did such a negative response seem suspicious but the fact he knew about the organisation at all was noteworthy.

“Of course they’ve seen it,” she said.

“Urgh, I specifically asked Lena not to let those morons near this,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Shortly after he pulled his hand away quickly and gave her another odd side-glance.

“Scared of authority, are you?” she said. Ignoring his antics

“Pfft, no. It’s just those idiots are going bust into all these places with the nuance of a train crash,” he said.

“That’s a good thing, any of Prometheus’ more zealous followers will be stopped,” she said. He looked at her in disbelief.

“You really think Mark set all these hideouts up? There are people out there that arrange places like this one,” he said, throwing his arms out to the office around them. “How else do you think they could hide in the middle of the city on such short notice without anyone in authority knowing?” It was a point she had not considered, those “to let” signs had to come from somewhere. Optic was becoming quite animated in his agitation.

“And now because the D.E.O. are too stupid to work that out and insist on using guns and explosions to solve every problem, the people that set these places up will abandon these assets, go to ground and reset. So now, I have to bust my arse to find the new places,” he said, Kara’s ring was picking up on the aggravation.

“Well, you can let the D.E.O. know this yourself when I hand you over,” she said.

“You let Mark walk out,” he said.

“He didn’t hide his motives,” she said.

“I just… actually before we continue this joyous debate, I need to tell you your nose is crooked and it’s incredibly distracting,” he said.

“Insulting my looks isn’t making me trust you more,” she said, narrowing her eyes. Optic looked bemused.

“For goodness sake, I’m not talking about the attractiveness of your nose, I’m talking about how Prommy whammed you in the face and broke it,” he said. Kara had grown so used to the searing pain from the ring that she had not registered how sore her face was. She felt along the tender bridge of her nose and it did indeed feel like it was an odd angle. She looked around the room for anything reflective. Optic pulled his phone from his pocket, it dragged along a notepad that poked out the top of his pocket.

“Here, this has a front camera,” he said. When he brought his hand down he pushed the notepad back in with a natural motion, a move she only noticed as she was paying particular attention to it. The screen revealed her face was still marginally bloodied and her nose was at an angle that could only be described as horrific. If the ring healed her up again there was a chance it would set there. With only one real option she placed her thumbs on the sides of the crooked bridge.

“Oh that is going to hurt,” Optic added helpfully. With a quick motion it crunched back into place, and he was not wrong. She grunted and brought the phone back up, her nose was swollen but was at least straightened out. She held the phone out to him, but pulled it away as he reached.

“Let me see that notepad,” she said. Optic’s casual mood dropped the second she mentioned it. He put his hand over his pocket.

“That information isn’t for you,” he said, his voice had switched to a low and serious tone.

“I’m not asking,” she said.

“You have to trust me on this,” he said.

“Trust you? All you do is act suspicious and spin stories,” the ring pulsed through her. “Now give me that notepad before I take it from you.” He held onto his pocket and shot a look at her that was filled with contempt. All the bounciness of his nature fell away in an instant, he stared her down as she opened it.

“I just want some way to verify your story, this is to help… you,” she hesitated when she saw the first page, forcing her self to look over it several times.

There was a heading scribbled in pencil that read “World Killers.” Beneath it were four titles spaced out down the page, only one had additional notes. She read it out.

“Reign, Samantha Arias, CFO L-Corp, Contained?” She looked back to him. “You’ve been tracking Reign, but what are these other names?” His face was dour and unmoving, it felt very different to the limited exposure she had had to the other moods he had thrown at her.

“Perrilus, Deimax and Flower of Heaven,” he said, they matched the other three titles on the page.

“There are three more World Killers?” she said quietly to herself, not knowing how to process this news.

“Reign’s gone quiet after being attacked, I’m guessing that was you,” he stopped, expecting some sort of response, but she said nothing. “The others haven’t surfaced in any way yet, but a good reason you shouldn’t hand me over to the D.E.O. is I so I keep following this up.”

“Why would I believe you?” she said.

“Frankly, I don’t care if you believe me or not. Just leave this to me and I will find you if I need you,” he said. Kara’s temper flared.

“You think I’ll just let this go?” She flicked through more pages from the pad, there were notes on Lena, Prometheus and Sam. It had their relationships and encounters with Reign along with theories and unanswered questions, she was too flustered to read into them properly.

“Was this the real reason you were trying to find Prometheus and working with Lena? You wanted more information on Reign,” she said.

“Initially no, the investigation was slow so I was hoping a few more contacts would open new avenues. The fact those two then had a direct run-in with Reign was coincidental,” he said.

“How did this investigation start in the first place?” she said.

“I found this because I spend my time listening and watching, not up in the clouds.” He kept his dour tone and a sneer on his face, he seemed to have abandoned whatever games he was playing before. His agitation was feeding into the ring, it was starting to scratch at her own thoughts.

“You better start answering properly or this will end very badly for you,” she said. He stood up without breaking eye contact, he scowled and leaned in close almost staring through her.

“I’ve been doing this long enough to find threats incredibly dull, so you better start giving me real reasons to talk,” he said.

“You want a reason, if I tell the D.E.O. you’re dangerous then you’ll be spending a very long time in a cell and your precious information game comes to a stop.” She held his glare, there was a severity to it. The animosity between them was palpable, this man despised this line of questioning and he was a potential threat to Lena. After what felt like an eternity he finally flinched away and sighed.

“There’s a cult in this city obsessed with Krypton. Then the Daxamites come along and Reign starts acting out. They suddenly get more radical and harder to deal with. I managed to find and get one of their dimmer members to brag to me. I got those names and even managed to convince him to write about it, though it was so poorly done that it turned out to be a waste of time, he didn’t even make it clear there was more than one,” he said. She remained stoic, though she was sure he was referring to be the blog post Winn had found.

“I looked for that man again to coax him into a re-write. I couldn’t find him for about a week, next time he surfaced was when I found his corpse. He had been beaten and tortured before being offed,” Optic looked to the floor.

“Then tell me everything you know, if it’s so dangerous then let me help,” she said. He shook his head.

“There were marks and wounds on him that couldn’t have been made by anything Earth has to offer. This cult is getting increasingly fanatical. There’s no telling what they have at their disposal. If you, a Kryptonian, get involved they may act in even more extreme ways. They might even have ways to hurt or kill you if you stand against them,” he said.

“It was my planet, it’s my responsibility to…” he cut her off.

“No, the responsible thing for you to do is step aside. If I find something or after digging deeper, decide it’s safe for you to get involved I will find you.” He took a breath and looked up from the floor. “There’s also the fact that if the worst-case scenario happens and these three world killers emerge, you’ll have to fight them off. You can’t do that if you’re embedded in this cult fiasco,” he said.

“You can’t force me to stay out,” she said.

“You’re right, I can’t force you to do anything. But if you value the safety of this city, you’ll let me work,” he said.

“Why should I think any of this is true? Or let you do this instead of people I can trust?” she said.

“You don’t have to believe me, you can lock me away and ignore everything I’ve said. Just don’t expect any sympathy from me when the other World-Killers emerge and start killing people.”

He backed off and dusted himself down. “As for the people you trust, I’ve already told you how careless the D.E.O. are, I’ve also known about this cult for a long time and have a better understanding than anyone on how to approach them,” he checked his watch.

“I’m leaving to report this whole Prometheus thing to Lena, then I’m going to continue investigating the World Killers. If you think my time is best spent in a D.E.O. cell, lying to some dopey interrogator, then you can bring me in after I’ve closed this case with Lena,” he took his notepad back and headed out.

“Wait,” she said. He did not stop.

“I’ll see you at Lena’s” he said. The door swung shut behind him. 


	30. Ring

Reign was still a threat as it was, but now with a potential extra three World Killers out there, Kara knew this was not something she could keep quiet. Despite having so many more questions for Optic, they would have to wait. Even if he had been lying, just the possibility of it was enough to warrant action. She needed to report it to J’onn as soon as possible, she could go to Lena’s and get more answers from Optic afterward. Whether she would bring him in or not was a decision for later.

Her flight speed was still slower than she wanted. Her run-in with Prometheus had been uplifting and the ring was acting strangely. She knew its influence was still there, but her head was relatively quiet. She flew into a busy headquarters, Alex popped up quickly.

“Now’s not a good time, Supergirl,” Alex said.

“Where’s J’onn?” She said. Alex stepped in front of her. Kara watched Alex gesture her to stop. She was still not used to Alex’s movement as the hand came in front of her at a strange angle.

“He’s overseeing the searches on Lena’s map, we’ve found a few things and made a few arrests but Prometheus is still a no-show,” Alex said.

“He’s dealt with. Where’s J’onn?” She said.

“Dealt with?” Alex said. Kara walked around her, Alex rushed to follow.

“Later,” she said, weaving through the hive of agents. “Aren’t you supposed to be on leave?”

“I told J’onn he had to let me help if he wanted the map,” she paused. “But apparently, I’ve wasted my time and it’s already dealt with,” Alex said. Kara did not respond, she looked around the command area but J’onn was nowhere obvious.

“Why is he never here when I need him?” she said.

“Fine, ignore me. But you should know he isn’t exactly happy with you based on your last visit. Also…”

“What the hell am I looking at here?” Hal’s voice echoed around the room, cutting Alex off mid-sentence.

“… The Green Lantern’s here,” Alex finished. Hal appeared in front of here, she had little patience for such distractions.

“I don’t have time for any Guardian nonsense right now,” she said, squaring up to him. Her red aura began to glow as they stared each other down. The thumping of her heart tempted her to remove this obstacle by force.

“You better make time, you can’t join the Red Lanterns and expect me to step aside,” he said. Her eyes narrowed and her glow brightened.

“I didn’t join them, the ring came to me and I took it. Now I need to talk to J’onn,” she said. Hal stepped even closer to her, his own green aura started up. It was cleaner and more stable than the pulsing shine of Kara’s.

“You wear that ring, you’re one of them,” he said. Alex pushed her way in-between them, struggling to fit in the gap and forcing them to step back.

“I feel like we’re a few seconds away from something stupid. Now what’s the issue, Hal?” she said. Hal was still glowing.

“My issue is that you have a ticking time-bomb in your midst,” he said. At that moment J’onn emerged from a briefing room, oblivious to the situation at hand.

“Alright people, we found Prometheus’ armour but no sign of the wearer, we need to keep at this,” he said. Kara pushed Hal out the way forcefully.

“J’onn, we have a problem,” she said. Hal immediately stood alongside her.

“Yeah, a big problem,” he said, looking at her. J’onn sighed.

“I’m trying to adhere to the Guardian’s guidelines but I can’t keep stopping every five minutes for another lecture,” he said.

“I’ll keep this short then. Supergirl has to come with me right now,” Hal said. Kara sneered at him.

“Remember what happened last time you tried to force me to come with you?” she said. J’onn looked at her, then to Hal. His lack of patience for the whole situation was obvious.

“Someone please explain what the squabbling is about?” he said. Hal managed to cut in first.

“Apparently whilst I was gone, Supergirl became a Red lantern. That makes her extremely dangerous,” he said.

“Can’t she just take the ring off?” J’onn said, clearly wanting the conversation to end.

“No,” Hal and Kara said in unison, they exchanged bemused looks before Hal carried on.

“That ring latches itself to the heart and fills the body with plasma, if she just takes it off her heart stops and her body burns from the inside. There is a way to remove it without killing her, but she’ll have to come with me to do it,” he said. Kara’s eyes widened, she really had been seconds from death when she tried to take off the ring.

“That’s certainly a concern, but isn’t a temporary solution to let her keep it on, we have a lot going on right now and could use her support,” J’onn said.

“That ring forces itself into the mind and corrupts the soul. It is fuelled by rage and vengeance, it will constantly fight her for control. She could lose herself to it at any moment and someone as powerful as her in that position… well I don’t need to explain the consequences of that,” Hal said. J’onn looked increasingly concerned.

“I’ve been keeping it under control,” She looked down at the ring, wanting nothing more than to take Hal’s offer, but her instinct told her it was out of the question. “And I need to keep it on.”

“You have been acting strangely recently. Your outburst here and how you treated agent Schott aren’t exactly signs of control,” he said.

“She’s also already grown dependent on it,” Hal said. She glared at him.

“This isn’t dependence, this is a necessity. What I came to tell you is that there’s potentially another three World Killers out there,” she said. Alex gasped and J’onn put his head in his hands.

“Who’s your source?” he said. Kara stalled, unsure of whether to drop Optic’s name.

“I don’t care what may be coming, we have to remove it. It’s too dangerous to be left alone,” Hal said, unintentionally saving her from the dilemma.

“You weren’t here so I’ll enlighten you. One World Killer practically killed me with ease, J’onn and Superman working together could only hold her off. Now imagine three at once, maybe even four. With this ring, that World Killer was no match for me, it’s the only way to protect this planet and every last human will be in danger without it,” she said. Hal shook his head. She looked to J’onn “You have to let me do this.”

“It’s impossible to control. Even if you keep it from consuming your mind, it has a will of its own. If you keep resisting, it will reject you and search for a new master, a process which would kill you,” he said. All her thoughts on the ring were confirmed, there was no easy way out or quick fix.

“If we get rid of it, it won’t come back to me. Leaving no security against this threat. I won’t put my own safety before the planet’s,” she said.

“If the ring consumes you and you turn to blind rage, then the planet’s in far more danger than you’ll ever know,” Hal said.

“I won’t let that happen. Besides, it’s not like we rely on the Green Lanterns to rush to our aid. You all apparently have more important things to do” she said. All the while they argued, Kara’s ring grew brighter. There was a distinct frustration in the air she was picking up on. The only person she sensed nothing from was J’onn, who had been deep thought whilst the two of them argued away. He cut in before Hal could lash back.

“You seem convinced that the ring is vital,” J’onn said.

“I’ve stopped both Reign and Prometheus with it, unassisted,” she said. J’onn’s impatience with the two of them was reaching its peak as he gestured to a couple of agents.

“Just tell me what happened,” he said.

“I fought Reign and beat her, Superman is looking after her now. I also managed to convince Prometheus to give up,” she said.

“That sort of information would have been useful to know earlier,” J’onn said, briefly giving orders to the agents.

“Prometheus stepped down after I spoke with him, it’s why you found his armour. I let him walk away because he realised his errors,” she looked to Hal. “I did this despite the ring because I can keep it under control.”

“That wasn’t your judgement to make,” J’onn sighed. “Here’s what’s going to happen, you’re going to report to me exactly what happened with Reign and Prometheus. I also want to know how you know there’s more World Killers,” He sucked the air through his teeth and looked to Hal.

“I’m guessing the Guardians would never condone Earth working with a Red Lantern,” he said.

“Damn right,” Hal said. J’onn stroked his chin and looked to the ground. With a stern expression he spoke directly to her.

“Based on your recent conduct and to protect the reputation of Earth I feel all I can do is order you to go and remove the ring safely,” he said. Alex seemed relieved when he said this.

“But J’onn...” she said. Kara was seething, her red glow crept ever brighter and filled the room, her own shouting voice echoed in her head. J’onn continued before she acted out.

“But should you deny that order, I will be forced to remove you from the D.E.O.s’ command and you will no longer be affiliated with official authorities in any way. If you do so, your numerous actions to help this planet and a lack of any actual crimes means we will have no quarrel with you. You would be able to act freely unless you give me a reason to interfere,” he said. Kara sensed no anger in him. The ring dimmed down and the shouting voices petered away as she slowly pieced together what he was saying. In his own way he had allowed her to make the choice. Have the ring removed and risk fighting World Killers in her former, weaker state, or keep it and be forced to operate alone. His hands were tied by the Guardians watching his every move, but spelling it out the way he did was a sign of his faith in her. He trusted that she had the fortitude to protect the world and keep her mind her own. She looked down to the ring and told herself to keep fighting. Her sad realisation was that the ring somehow seemed less intrusive with her thought process. This, along with it allowing the merging of the House of El symbol into her uniform, was a sign that her relationship with the ring was growing closer. She hoped it was her influence on it, rather than the horrifying alternative. Either way, there was no real choice whilst the World Killer threat persisted.

“Then I resign,” she said.

“Supergirl, you can’t do this,” Alex said.

“She’s made her decision. It was a pleasure working with you,” J’onn said. Hal said nothing, but the ring was actively feeding off his anger and the look on his face said enough.

“Before I leave, I want to check my mother’s database,” she said.

“Take as much time as you need, you can debrief agent Danvers or myself on everything later” J’onn said.

“I’ll go with her,” Alex said. As they walked off, Kara tuned her hearing into Hal and J’onn.

“I don’t think you realise what you’re doing,” Hal said.

“I won’t let the Guardians’ past with these Red Lanterns affect her, for now this is an Earth matter” J’onn said.

“They won’t ignore such a powerful one operating on your planet,” Hal said.

“In my eyes she’s done nothing to present herself as a threat, if that changes or she leaves the planet I will let you know. The Guardians should respect my decision on behalf of Earth,” he said.

“You don’t know what Red Lanterns are capable of,” Hal said.

“But you don’t know what she’s capable of,” he said.

“That’s a hell of a gamble,” Hal said. She had heard enough, J’onn’s quick thinking had turned the Guardian’s neutral philosophy against them. No affiliation with Earth authorities gave the Guardians no grounds to act against the planet and any action against her without specific reason would be a violation of Earth’s authority. Her smirk at J’onn’s wily play vanished when it fully dawned on her that this meant she was leaving the D.E.O., it had happened so quickly that it had not quite registered. The rush of agents was dying down, her and Alex were largely unhindered as they worked their way over to the database. Neither of them spoke until her mother’s face flickered into life. She was scared to ask, part of her was hoping this thing would tell her Reign was the only problem and Optic was playing a sick game.

“Are you alright, Kara?” Alex reached out for her, visibly distressed. Kara gathered her thoughts as she let Alex’s hand rest on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and took a hold of it. Even with its warmth gone and the disconcertingly smooth surface, it was comforting.

“World Killers” Kara said.

“No information available,” it said. She gripped Alex’s hand tighter.

“World Killers,” she said again.

“No information available.” The blank stare of her mother’s face looked through her.

“Maybe it’s…” was as far as Alex got before Kara started shouting at it. She got louder as she struggled to recall each name.

“World Killer… Perrilus…. Deimax… Flower of Heaven… Reign…” Every one of them was met with the same phrase and blank stare. Her free hand clenched into a fist and started shaking. She wanted so badly to break something and scream out, a way to free herself of the ring was presented to her but she had to keep it, solely on the word of liar.

Alex tried to turn her around to face her. She did not budge at first, too lost in her thoughts to realise what Alex was doing, but when she felt the tugging she let it happen.

“Maybe the fact it isn’t saying anything this means it’s a false alarm, maybe you can go with Hal,” Alex said. Kara turned back to the image of her mother.

“We know that Reign exists, it had nothing to say about her either,” she said. Alex pulled her into a hug.

“Why can’t it be easy, just this once?” Alex’s voice was starting to crack. Kara held her tight, staring out into nothing.

“It never is,” she said. There was little reaction from the ring, it seemed content to be dormant for the moment. Alex let go and looked down at it, Kara looked too. Without it’s glow it seemed so harmless.

“I don’t want to lose you to that thing,” Alex said.

“You won’t,” Kara said. She did her best to sound strong for her, but it was a promise she was unsure she could keep. The door swung open, Winn walked in.

“I hate to interrupt, but I wanted to say goodbye too,” he said.

“You were eavesdropping?” Kara said.

“That conversation you had out there wasn’t exactly quiet,” he said. She had to concede that point as she looked at the sad faces.

“I’ll still be around you know,” she said.

“I know, I guess it just won’t be the same without you here,” he said.

“Please don’t leave, that ring sounds awful,” Alex said.

“I can keep it from hurting anyone,” she said. Alex shook her head and the ring glinted as she raised her voice.

“Would you say that to Reign?” she said.

“That’s not fair, Alex. After what she did to you…” Kara said, the ring flaring. Alex held out her hand.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. But it’s you I’m really worried about. Constantly having to battle for your own mind all the time must be a living hell, you don’t have to put yourself through that.” Kara tried to look Alex in the eye, but pulled away.

“Yes, I do,” she said. Alex swallowed hard and wiped at her glistening eyes.

“I hope that’s you saying that, not that… monstrosity,” Alex said. She took one last look at the ring before rushing out. It left her with a solemn Winn.

“I’ll talk to her,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said. He cleared his throat.

“She’s right to worry you know, Hal makes that sound like a seriously nasty piece of kit,” he said.

“It is,” she said. Winn was surprisingly calm.

“I won’t try and change your mind, but I will do everything I can to let you get rid of that ring, even if I have to fight the World Killers myself. I know J’onn would say the same thing, granted his fighting would probably be a tad more useful,” he said. She smiled.

“I appreciate it, Winn,” she said. He hugged her.

“Go save the world,” he said. She gave him a small nod and walked out. She snaked through the corridors into the main control room, getting one last look at the staff working away at their stations and the tactical displays blinking away on the huge monitors. She looked to J’onn who gave a slight bow. She was about to leave, but Hal approached her. Her face dropped.

“I’m not looking for a fight. Just know that nothing good ever comes from being a Red Lantern,” he said. She looked at him blankly before flying away. She ascended high into the sky, taking a look at the building she once considered a home.


	31. Hope

She had always marvelled at how big the city seemed when she hovered above it all, it was a feeling harshly thrown into perspective as she floated out in space. Her red shielding tinted the Earth ever so slightly. Being forced to keep the ring meant difficult times were ahead, so she had come out here to remind herself what she was fighting for. The planet sat there, indifferently going about its business. Down on the surface there were potential World Killers, anxiety and work, but there was a beauty to the simplicity of just watching the planet orbit without a care. From so far out it almost seemed like the planet did not need saving and it could just keep on spinning. It was a nice, if somewhat brief, fantasy of hers.

She knew exactly where to look for support now the D.E.O. was out of the picture, but there was a reluctance that was hard to shake. The full power of the ring could let her protect everyone, not just one city, stifling that power in any way could mean those who deserved vengeance would never see it. Hal’s warnings stuck in her mind as the rage inside her burned on. Vigilance against something so deep-rooted within was now a matter of life and death, the possibility of the ring rejecting her hung over her head like a weight ready to fall. Finding a balance that kept her mind and power intact would be impossible without help.

Lena and Optic would be waiting for her, but she stayed a little longer to let the serenity of space wash over her. The ring pulsed at that moment, it felt like it did it to mock her. It was reminding her that it was always there, part of her every action and every thought. She raised it close to her mouth.

“We have to be in this together if we want this to work,” she whispered. The reality was she was probably wasting her time but having that small word with it felt like it helped.

Flames engulfed the shielding as she sped through the atmosphere, she left a trail of fire in the sky as the incredible sensation of flying rushed by. She came to a sudden stop when she realised just how fast she had gone. After letting herself cool down she made the slower descent to Lena’s apartment, it was a penthouse and probably as luxurious as Lena could get without straying too far from her headquarters. As she got close, familiar voices reached her ears.

“It’s just underwhelming is all,” it was Optic.

“You’ll be surprised to learn I won’t just build a mansion slap-bang in the middle of the city,” said Lena.

“Wait… “won’t”? You mean “can’t” right?” he said.

“Your connections get you information, mine would let me arrange a demolition of a block or two if I so chose,” she said.

“Remind me to run away very fast if you ever take up the whole super-villain thing,” he said.

“It hurts my feelings that you wouldn’t offer to be a henchman,” she said. Kara landed on the balcony, it interrupted the frivolous conversation. Optic folded his arms and watched her carefully.

“What are you looking at?” Lena said, turning to see what had distracted him. “Ah Supergirl… you’re red,” Lena backed off after sliding open the glass door for her. “You were the blur that took down Reign?” Kara was surprised to be receive such an icy reception, Lena was strangely distant whilst Optic showed nothing. The ring glimmered slightly as she could sense anger in the room.

“I can explain that later,” she said, looking at Optic.

“Supergirl’s here to see me,” he said. Lena looked at him suspiciously.

“You know her?” She said. Optic shrugged.

“We met recently,” he said.

“Already made quite the impression,” Lena said, reading the grim expression on Kara’s face.

“This man is not all he seems, Lena,” she said.

“Something else I should know?” Lena asked casually, turning to him. 

“Probably not,” he said. Kara’s nostrils flared and she stomped toward him, the glow of her ring brightening as she got closer.

“He was with Prometheus when I found him, freely talking to him,” she said. Lena stepped in front of her, those soft eyes extinguished her temper as quickly as it had arisen.

“I know. He told me that was what he wanted to do,” she turned to him having stopped Kara in her tracks. “Freely, though?”

“I can’t help the fact I’m so charming,” he said. Lena rolled her eyes. Kara could not believe what she was seeing, it was like the intensity of their last conversation had completely slipped his mind. It was almost impossible to decipher what was an act with this man and what was real.

“That’s it, you just trust him?” she said.

“No, but I expect you to trust my judgement. He’s been working for me and that means I can handle him, quirks and all,” she said. Lena walked over to the kitchen area and started pouring herself a glass of wine, she did not look away from pouring as she spoke.

“One thing I am hazy on is what exactly happened to Prometheus. Monarch, or whatever name he gave you, just said you turned up and that Prometheus wasn’t a problem any more. Can you give me a less vague recollection of events?” There was a hint of accusation in her voice, strangely it was directed at her.

“I unmasked him, then convinced him to stop. He left his armour behind and walked away,” Kara said, she was ready to defend her actions. Instead Lena just seemed relieved and took a sip of her drink. Kara waited for some sort of rebuttal to no avail. “That’s it? You aren’t annoyed he’s still out there somewhere?”

“Told you she didn’t care,” Optic butted in. Lena shot him a bemused look.

“Not entirely true, but if you’re convinced he’s no longer a threat and hasn’t been hurt, I won’t complain,” Lena said.

“Even after what he did to your business?” she said. The fact she sought no revenge or justice was baffling to her.

“You do know you’re the one who let him walk right? Just take the win here,” Optic said. Lena shot him another look.

“Sure, what he did was wrong. But if I held a grudge against anyone who tried to sabotage my efforts I’d have more enemies than minutes in the day,” she said. Optic stepped forward and cut in again.

“I’d guess you’d say your dealings with Prommy are over…” he said. Lena sighed

“Yes, yes, payment. Name a price and I’ll tell you how unrealistic you’re being,” she said. That childish grin reappeared on his face.

“No price, just a favour,” he said.

“Don’t take that deal,” Kara said. Optic’s shoulders slumped.

“She can say no to a favour, I’m not some sleazy crime boss,” he said. Lena nodded at him slowly.

“Okay then, if anything I’m interested to see what you have up your sleeve,” she said.

“I assure you it isn’t very exciting. Anyway I’ll be off, unless there’s a reason I should stay,” he said, staring directly at Kara. She paused, she had no intention of letting him know her connection to the D.E.O. had been cut, she also did not want Lena in the dark about what he was up to.

“Show Lena that notepad of yours,” she said. Lena perked up, interest piqued. Optic’s eyes narrowed, he thought for a moment before pulling out the notepad and tossing it over to Lena. She was more interested in protecting her wine than making the catch and let it land on the counter.

“Not exactly up my sleeve,” he said as Lena flicked through with her free hand. The wine rippled as her hand trembled, she put the glass down and read some of the notes.

“This is why you were so quick to console and ask me about Reign,” she said.

“Just because I had an ulterior motive, doesn’t mean I wasn’t concerned,” he said. She rubbed her eyes and slid the notebook across the counter.

“More creatures like Reign, not exactly uplifting news,” she said quietly. 

“Sometimes it’s best to keep the mystery alive. I’ll talk to you about it soon,” he said, grabbing the pad. Kara was bewildered at the whole turn of events, just as he was out the apartment she got in one last question.

“Who are you, really?” she asked. Optic gently pulled the door as he turned to her.

“I am Optic, I am Monarch…” he bowed as the door came to a close “and I am gone.”

Lena let her hand slide down to the counter before reaching for more wine.

“I still can’t decide if that man is twelve steps ahead of everyone or an incredibly lucky idiot,” Lena said.

“You don’t seem overly concerned with his lying,” she said.

“The risk is he’s lying to cover himself or has some strange scheme in the works, the reward is he’s telling the truth and I have a direct line on these new World Killers. It’s a worthwhile gamble,” Lena looked away from the door. 

“There’s no telling what he’s really up to,” she said.

“I’ll keep a close eye.” Her expression shifted. “But enough about him. It’s you I’m concerned about.”

“You’re trusting him over me?” she said, devastated at the accusation.

“Not exactly…” Lena was notably upset. “Superman of all people visited me recently, told me he needed help. He told me Reign was somewhere safe and seemed to have fully reverted to being Sam Arias. She wants to see her daughter and with no other family to speak of said I was the best person to have it arranged,” Lena stood up, Kara sensed a flash of anger in her.

“He didn’t mention what happened, but also expressed an interest in the artificial limbs L-Corp can produce. I assumed it was something to do with that red blur I saw… which turns out to be you.” Lena’s stare cut into her heart. “Tell me you didn’t hurt her like that.” Kara was silent and failed to keep eye contact. Lena sighed.

“Ruby was scared for her, terrified something bad would happen. I told her to be hopeful and now I have to take her to see her mother in God knows what condition.” Kara looked into the eyes of the angered Lena, the ring could sense it, but Kara only felt weight on her shoulders again.

“The truth of the matter is, I cut her arm off. It wasn’t even in battle, I had her at my mercy, defenceless,” Lena looked horrified at her admission, but Kara kept speaking. “This uniform, the way I’ve acted. It’s this ring,” she said putting her hand out, Lena was weary at first, but moved in to examine it closely.

“It gets in my head, exploits my feelings of rage and need for revenge. I can barely control it, but it enhances my powers to degrees I didn’t think were possible. Powers I needed to stop Reign and powers I need to stop these other World Killers.

“I’m guessing you would have taken it off already if you could,” Lena said, her tone had softened but there were still hints of anger.

“If it comes off, I die. There’s a way to get rid of it without killing me, but then I can’t get it back and there’s nothing to stop the World Killers, no hope for the safety of the planet,” she said. Lena kept looking at the ring, using it as an excuse not to speak.

“It’s why I really came here. I’ve realised the only person who’s managed to keep me in check, to keep me grounded is you,” she said.

“I don’t understand,” Lena said slowly. She could not afford to lose Lena, with no D.E.O. and Alex so distraught she saw no alternative. There was only one course of action that could explain the true burden she was facing, the only course of action that would make Lena understand. She willed away the Red Lantern uniform and her normal clothes replaced them, she tied her hair back and looked to her. Lena was still, but it was obvious her brain was going at a thousand miles per hour. Kara had to stay there and let Lena process what she had learned. After a lot of sitting, getting up to pace and sitting down again, Lena settled on her sofa. Kara followed, sitting next to her.

“Are you alright?” she said.

“Kara Danvers… Supergirl,” Lena said.

“Yes,” she said.

“How did I not see it?” Lena said to herself, necking her wine.

“Well, I did keep it hidden from you,” she said. Lena looked to refill her glass Kara followed her, though Lena was understandably distracted and promptly gave up.

“You could have told me. I would have listened, I would have helped,” Lena said.

“You aren’t angry?” She said, feeling weak and confused at Lena’s measured words.

“I stood face to face with Reign, there was absolutely nothing I could do when she turned on me. It put into perspective just how dangerous what you do is, why would I be angry at you for shielding me from that?” Lena said. That same feeling of weight she got in her own apartment started to wash over her, she went over to the sofa to sit back down and get a handle on herself.

“I know you well Kara, this other side of you doesn’t change what you’ve done for me. It doesn’t change the good person I know you are,” Lena said, joining her.

“Yeah… well. I’m not so convinced I’m such a good person,” she said. Lena moved in and hugged her.

“You’ve endured me questioning my loyalty to Supergirl right to you, I put Supergirl up on this pedestal without even thinking you could be just as scared and confused as the rest of us. I even implied you should be angry at what Supergirl did to Mon-El. Reign crippled your own sister and I accused you of going too far. You stayed quiet because you wanted to protect me from that dangerous side of your life. Those aren’t the actions of a bad person. I guess my only real question is why now?” Lena said, pulling away and looking deep into her eyes.

“This ring’s influence on me dropped off when you… when I’m with you. I don’t know much about it, but I don’t think I can handle it without you,” she said.

“What makes you so sure? I consider you my closest friend and apparently didn’t even care enough to notice or ask what you really were,” Lena said.

“It’s okay, I hid it from you, I hid everything from you and expected it not to take a toll on our friendship,” she said.

“I don’t know what to say,” Lena said.

“You don’t need to say anything,” she said. Lena hugged her tighter, they held the embrace for a while, it was a balm to her pain and having Lena know this secret was a massive relief, one she did not realise she needed so desperately until now.

Lena finally pulled away and gathered herself.

“I have so many questions…” she said. “But I think it’s the ring you want me to ask about isn’t it?” Kara nodded and outstretched her hand.

“So, it’s sentient?” Lena said.

“I don’t think so, it’s more like a bestial will fighting my own thoughts,” she said.

“That sounds like a nightmare,” Lena said, inspecting it.

“It is… it really is,” Kara slid down, resting her head on Lena’s lap.

“Well whatever that thing throws at you, I’m here for you now. We can iron out everything else another time,” Lena said.

“What I did to Reign, you were right to call me out on it. I hate to know what I’m capable of,” she said, looking up at Lena’s sympathetic face.

“You were driven to it, I know all about the pressures of fear and hate. After what happened to your sister, and that part of you being dredged up, I’d say you came as close to doing the right thing as you could. Just like Daxam, bad situations and hard choices keep beating you down, but you make it through. No-one can go through what you have without scars,” she said.

“But I…” she started, but quickly stopped. She had no response to it. Lena stroked her cheek, all she could do was appreciate the warmth of Lena’s touch and understanding.

“When Superman came to me about Reign I didn’t know what to do. I sometimes feel that moment I was so close to death just at the mention of her. I shouldn’t take that out on Sam and especially not her daughter, but I’ve been so damn scared that I freeze up. It’s why I tried to force you to be happy again, you were someone who would always drag me away from darkness,” Lena said. Kara shifted on to back up and looked at Lena.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t fight her off, that I failed everyone,” she said.

“Don’t be, what I’m saying is we make a little pact. I’ll try my best to control my fear and do the right thing for Sam, as well as looking out for you for once. And in return you do everything you can to hold off the worst of your anger and fight this ring,” Lena said. It was the calmest she had felt in a long time, even before the ring chose her. There was no booming in her chest or dissenting voice in her head, it was just the two of them.

“Lena…” she said.

“Yeah?” Lena said.

“Whatever this is between us right now, I think it’s what I need. Nothing more, nothing less,” she said.

“Kara Danvers. Supergirl. I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe,” Lena said. There was nothing more to say, somehow the ring barely seemed to matter anymore. Even if it was temporary, she had her peace in this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this story of mine, this is the end of the first part. The second part is more focused on the threat of the World Killers, Kara's continuing relationship with the ring and Lena's role as her emotional support. If you're particularly eager to find out what happens next, I've already written a sizeable chunk of the second part that's over on FanFiction called "Supergirl: Legacy of Krypton." Though my uploading of new chapters is inconsistent and can take a while, which throws off pacing along with other issues that come with that style of releasing.
> 
> I intend to give part 2 the same treatment of going through it all once it's done and doing a complete overhaul/second draft, which will be the version that ends up here. Though it'll probably at least be a few months before I start uploading it on AO3
> 
> In the meantime, thanks again for reading. I particular appreciate comments, feedback is incredibly useful. I'm happy to hear about what you didn't like or you don't think worked as well with my writing or the plot as long as it's constructive. I'm looking to improve as a writer so constructive criticism is appreciated just as much as praise.
> 
> I hope you're looking forward to part 2.  
> JamCov


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